The Rise of the Shield Hero Fanfic- The People You Trust
by Kai Travis
Summary: Naofumi lost all hope of trusting any human after being summoned to save a parallel world. But what if someone who went through something similar helped him gain his trust back? How will this affect him in becoming the hero needed to save the world?
1. Chapter 1

Fires began to roar. The evening sky grew brighter and brighter, making the evening sky look like the morning sky had risen again. All while this was happening, a young girl with dark red-blackish hair saw her entire village burn to the ground. The voices of her townmates yelled in the distance. Hearing their screams caused a scowl to form on her face. As her crimson red eyes looked into the flames, she knew she couldn't do anything. Just as she was going to shed a tear for her fellow friends, and demi-human allies, she heard the laughter of a soldier who was meant to protect the village. Turning her attention towards the sound of laughter, she noticed one soldier claiming to save the entire village. Now looking for something to smack him with, she noticed a blade from the monster still in its hand. Grabbing it and rushing toward the soldier, she swung causing the blade to pierce his arm and scare him silly.

"You dare…swing a blade at a Royal Knight?!" he said as he quivered in fear.

"You neglected to protect the people you swore to protect. Of course, I'd swing my sword at you!" The girl said with tears forming in her eyes.

As this happens wind begins to pick up and blast the girl away. As she's tossed like a ragdoll, she looks up to see the princess of Melromarc, just smiling almost like she had won some grand battle. Seeing this, the girl's face scowled even more, even causing a bit of blood to trickle down. But before she could do anything else, the sky went from a crimson red to its normal dark night sky. The only thing that lit the night sky was the fire that emanated from the burning wood. Seeing all the guards leave, the girl clenched her fist and looked in disappointment. The people she had put her faith in, completely left without another word.

I'll find you, Princess Malty. I swear to that. And when I do, I, Alice Sephare, will make you pay for this." As Alice makes this declaration tears form in her eyes, but were quickly washed away as the rain set in.

Submitting to defeat, Alice turned towards her small village. As the fire was extinguished, she lifted the pieces of wood to find whatever she could salvage. Finding pieces of copper lying around, a few silvers, and with luck one piece of gold, and a Travelers' Pass. After a few hours, the rain had stopped and her hands were severely burned, due to carrying the burnt wood while it was still cooling, but she didn't care. Looking into the distance, she knew what their plans were.

"I have to figure out a way into Melormarc. Otherwise, other people will fall into same ordeal as I." Alice said to herself. "But first things first, I have to get out of here."

As she says this, she noticed a brown cloak dangling from a branch. Grabbing and tying it around her neck, she set off with the items she found in the rubble to Melormarc. Hoping that she could find a bit of hope when she arrives.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: Thank for the review Azentra and **_

_**Now Enjoy the story**_

* * *

Through the harsh winds and blazing sun, cloak covering her head, Alice continued walking without looking back. The shadow of her cloak gave her some shade from the sun's rays, allowing her to see a bit further. As she walked, she past a village known as Lute. Asking around to see if there was any way to collect easy money, she was directed towards a cave in the distance. Grabbing a pickaxe that was in the storage, Alice set off for the mine's entrance if it wasn't for some people running out like wild dogs. Surprised by their screaming she dropped the pickaxe and asked the men.

"Hey! What's wrong?!" Alice practically yelled trying to calm the men down as they approached her.

"Monster! Monsters everywhere!" One man yelled as he crouched down in fear.

"Yeah. I'm getting out of here!" Another followed with a scream as well as he ran straight for Lute Village.

Hearing about monster, Alice did not hesitate to walk in. Leaving the pickaxe, she drew her sword, that was a bit on the thin side, but long nearly half her height. Its handle was covering with cotton, so that it fit within her own grasp. Once inside, monster began bombarding her, notice even hesitating for a second, she swung her sword cutting down the monsters that approached her. After her swings, a streak of lighting followed causing the ore to glow with a bit of afterlight, which lit the cave a bit but soon died after. Keeping eyes everywhere, listening carefully for anything out of the ordinary. Swinging and slashing, blood splattered everywhere. On Alice's cloak, her face, sword, the ground, but not caring once of how it looked, she picked up the dead bodies of the smaller monster and tied them in some rope she found. Even tying several together to use up as much rope as she had in her possession. Hearing more and more monsters approach, Alice's eyes began to glow red more and more, until even the small monsters began to fear her malice. Rushing towards them without hesitation, she captured a bunch of small monsters and used up all the rope she had. A bunch more monsters that had been there, rushed off deeper into the cave, thinking it was best not to get involved with a girl like her. Seeing them rush off, Alice's eyes turned from a menacing red to an emerald green. Now realizing the predicament, she was in, she knew it was going to be a pain dragging a bunch of dead corpses out of the cave.

"Oh, man. I went overboard again." She said scratching her head. "But even if I do sell these, they won't amount to much. Oh, well."

As she says this, Alice pierces her sword into the wall to try and dislodge a giant piece of ore she had originally come for. Managing to remove it, her sword snapped in two. Seeing this, she threw her sword into the water below, and returned to her catch of the day. Dragging it out of the cave, which was actually a lot harder than it seemed, the man who had run out just a hour before saw Alice come out with a huge catch of monsters.

"No way." He said as soon as he saw Alice with a big bulged behind her. "She took all them out?"

"I didn't kill them all." Alice said as she began to get closer to the man. "Most of the monster just ran farther into the cave. Probably won't be bothering you for a while. But I'd stay away, just to be safe."

"Um…if you don't mind…" The man said as he pulled out a bag.

Walking away from Lute Village, Alice opened the bag to see 2000 silver just for her from the giant ore she brought out, along with the dead corpses. Smiling to herself, Alice couldn't help but feel proud of herself for the money she earned. Now having the funds needed, she set off towards the one place she was going to regret: Melormarc.

* * *

_**A Day Later…**_

Now arriving at Melormarc, Alice was hearing some strange rumors going about. Mostly being that the capital had summoned all 4 Cardinal Heroes, and this surprised Alice. Just hearing close to a month ago that each capital was to summon at least one Cardinal Hero, left her in shock. Going around and asking to see if the rumors hold true, Alice hearing that 3 of the 4 heroes were out in the field training. Then rushing to get an answer, she yelled:

"Was there a girl with red hair with one of the heroes?!" This question shocked everyone to their core.

"Why, yes. She was here with the Shield Hero just a few moments ago." The man replied in shock.

"That bitch!" Alice said to herself before leaving a few pieces of silver for their trouble.

Now knowing what was going on, Alice rushed over to the plains to see if she could spot the Shield Hero. Then realizing what might go down, she shuffled through her bag and pulled out a smaller bag containing some left-over ores from the mines. Rushing over to see what she can do for money, she managed to find a trader who was willing to buy the entire bag for a gold piece. Accepting the offer, Alice took the money and rushed off to find the Shield Hero. Several minutes go by and hope shined in her eyes, when she saw the one bitch that ruined her life. And she was along with a man with a shield over his right forearm. Then thinking about it logically, Alice knew she had to find a way to separate both of them. Then grabbing the dagger that was hidden in her cloak, and unsheathing it, noticed how damaged it was, and smiled maliciously.

* * *

_**In the Plains just outside the gate of Melormarc…**_

Trying her best as to not be seen, Alice had her cloak over her face, just to be safe and not recognized by anyone. With her luck, she managed to find 3 of the 4 heroes that were summoned, but the Shield Hero and the princess were nowhere to be seen. Not knowing what to do, she looked at the other 3 heroes and their appearance caused her to stand in shock. A boy with black hair, who looked like a serious gentleman, wielded the sword. Another young boy with dark tannish-blonde hair, who looked more studious than a warrior, held the bow. And finally, one taller than the rest, a blonde who looked to be more of a player in Alice's eyes, held the spear. Feeling disgusted by her find, Alice tried to leave only for an arrow to nearly hit her straight in the nose, causing her to fall backwards. Tumbling down the small hill, Alice landed face down with her hood on her back. The Spear Hero sees her and rushed to her aid.

"Oh, my god. Are you okay?!" He asked as soon as he got in close to lend a hand.

"I'm fine." Alice says as she goes to grab his hand only to see her hair glow with the sun's rays. Jumping back, she placed her hood back on. "You don't need to worry about someone like myself. But if you could please tell me in which direction the Shield Hero is, I would forever be in your debt."

"The Shield Hero?" The Cardinal Hero of the Sword asked as soon as he saw the commotion. "Why do you want to know about Naofumi?"

"Naofumi?" Alice whispered to herself.

"Yeah, that loser can't even fight for himself." The Spear Hero bloated with confidence. "It's best if you stay with me, miss."

As he says this, he grabs Alice's hand and bring her closer to him.

"I, Motoyasu Kitamura, will protect you will all I have. I swear to this." Motoyasu says as he brings Alice's face closer to his.

"I decline." Alice says as she pushes herself away from Motoyasu. As she begins to walk away, she turns back. "And frankly, Sir Hero, Sir Naofumi is a better man than you are. If you're not going to help me, then I'll be taking my leave. Good day."

Leaving the group stunned, an arrow came in her direction, only for it to be caught by Alice's hand. Running up in shock to see where the arrow had landed, the Bow Hero, Itsuki Kawasumi, ran up to Alice to apologize.

"Oh, man. I am so sorry about that, I'm still trying to get used to this bow." Itsuki said, only for Alice's mouth to scowl even more.

"Well be more careful next time!" Alice yelled while grabbing Itsuki's shirt and whispering into his ear. "Tell me where the Sir Naofumi is and I'll drop this entire incident on the spot."

"Naofumi, he went with his party member into Melormarc." Itsuki said before seeing her emerald eyes turn into a blood-shot menacing red color.

"Thank you for your time, Sir Hero." Alice says as she lets go of Itsuki's clothes and walked back to Melormarc.

* * *

_**Back in Melormarc…**_

Running up and down the streets of Melormarc, Alice was in a rush to search for the now named Sir Naofumi, the Shield Hero. After a few hours, and with the day nearly over, Alice claimed defeat. Or not. As she looked up, she saw him. The man she had been looking for, and what's best for the situation, he was alone. Smiling, she rushed over without even thinking.

"Excuse me?" Alice asked.

"Hmm? Yes, can I help you?" Naofumi responded.

"You wouldn't happen to be the Shield Hero, would you?" Alice asked hoping she had found the right man.

"I am. Is there something you need, miss?" Naofumi responded curiously.

And just as she was about to open her mouth, she sees the door to the shop open up. Panicking, Alice grabbed Naofumi's hand and pulled him into a near-by alleyway. Hearing someone come out of the shop, Alice began to panic even more. Then coming to her only solution, she turned to Naofumi.

"Please forgive, Sir Naofumi." Alice says as grabs both of Naofumi's arms and wraps them around her waist.

"Wait…what are you…" Naofumi was cut off due to Alice gripping him too tightly around his own waist.

And when she thought it couldn't get any better, the one person she was expecting just so happened to see her entire fiasco go down. Looking to her left as hard as she could, Alice saw Malty just staring. Trying to stop herself from smiling, Alice bit her lower lip causing it to bleed. As this was going down, Alice removed one of her hands from Naofumi's waist, and slid her hand on his shield trying to feel where it was without moving to much. Finding the shield, she opened her hand slightly, and placed the gold coin she received just moments ago into the gap between Naofumi's arm and his shield. Feeling something slip in between his shield and arm, Naofumi believed he knew what was going on. And just as he was about to ask, he heard this girl who forced herself on him whisper softly.

"This is all I can do. If you value everything you have, then you will leave this city as soon as you can, and preferably away from that woman." Alice's voice quivered just thinking about what Malty would do to this hero.

Then after an awkward silence, Alice started to walk back and smiled under her hood and spoke.

"If you ever need assistance, I'll be here until the end of the month. I'll be rooting for you, Sir Naoufumi." She said before rushing off and leaving both Malty and Naofumi behind.

After disappearing from sight, Malty spoke up.

"Sir Hero, who was that?"

"Huh?" Naoufumi thought about then lied through his teeth. "Just a follower, that's all."

As he said that he began to follow Malty yet again, all the while remembering the mysterious girl's words.

As she ran away from her scene, Alice's eyes began to tear up. As streaks of tears slid off her cheek, she stopped to rub it off. In her entire life, she's never felt more powerless than in that one moment. If given the chance again, Alice thought to herself, "_If I could get him to Siltvelt, then, maybe, just maybe…"_She stopped in her tracks knowing full well that it would be impossible. Holding back her tears, Alice made a vow to support the Shield Hero with all her might, no matter the costs.


	3. Chapter 3

Eating in a tavern in Melormarc, Alice was remembering her life before the wave hit her tiny little trading town. As she closed her eyes she began to remember.

* * *

_**Just several months before…**_

A demi-human was rushing straight towards Alice, who was holding a wooden sword. Swinging with all her might, Alice tried to get at least one good hit in. Dodging, and using the entirety of his body, the demi-human made Alice's attempts look like child's play. Then trying to strike at his stomach, the demi-human caught the wooden sword in between his hands. After an hour of trying to hit her opponent, Alice was knocked to her feet.

"I guess that is all you can do." The Demi-human replied

"Even though we've been doing this for years, you're still as fast as ever, Master." Alice answered trying to catch her breath.

"No, I've gotten slower. I'm old after all." Alice's Master said while laughing.

"Do you think I can be good enough to fight besides the Shield Hero.?" Alice couldn't help but ask.

"I don't think you're ready just yet, but I believe you have what it takes to defeat at least one of the other Heroes." Alice's Master replied, at the same time he extended his hand.

But her recollection on the past was cut off due to a man yelling at the top of this lungs. So now, Alice's focus was on the conversation that is happening just a table away from her.

"Are you serious?!" One man yelled.

"Yeah, and apparently the Shield Hero took advantage of his party member at night." Another man another man responded.

"Are you serious?!" Said another. "Just because he's a hero, doesn't mean he can get away with something like that. So, what happened after?"

"Don't know. That's all I was able to hear before the guards sent me off."

"If I find him, I'll beat him senseless. No, even then I won't be satisfied."

Her eyes then widened to her worst fear coming true. Walking up to the men, she couldn't help but ask.

"Excuse me, gentlemen?"

"Hmm? What is it?" One of the men asked.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the Shield Hero is, do you?" Alice asked.

"No. And even if I did, I'd probably tell the guards, not some shady woman such as yourself." As he said this, a bag full of silver dropped in front of him. As he opened it, he began to speak again. "Last I saw, he walked out of the castle. He should still be in Melormarc, other than that I'm not sure."

"Thank you for your assistance." Alice says as she drops another bag of sliver in front of the man. "For your trouble."

As Alice left, she looked at her hand to see only 5 pieces of silver left. Closing her hand on her only remaining money, she walked out of the tavern and into the dark night in search of Sir Naofumi, the Shield Hero.

* * *

_**A Few Days Later…**_

While walking through the city of Melormarc, Alice noticed a figure in a green cloak dragging along what looked to be a demi-human. Unsure of whether or not it was who she thought it was, she began to follow the two. After a while, the two walked into a tavern, which had a sign that stated: "_We don't serve Demi-Humans._" To which the young raccoon says.

"Um..."

"What's wrong?" the man responds.

"Well, this place…" The raccoon answered.

"What about it, let's go."

After entering the little restaurant, Alice stood outside and waited for them to exit. After 20 min, she saw the man and the little raccoon girl leave. As Alice, once again began to follow, she noticed the man take the demi-human by the hand and walked into a little alleyway. Rushing a little thinking she might lose them, Alice felt something pull against her arm, and swung her against the wall. Exhaling at the sudden force on her back, she bent forwards to try to catch her breath, only to be stopped by an arm at her neck.

"Who are you?! And why are you following me?! What else are you going to frame me for?!" Naofumi yelled at the person he held up against the wall.

Coughing out, Naofumi recognized a certain scent. The smell of roses. Then looking up he saw some red hair, and then proceeded to remove the hood from her head to see a girl with green emerald eyes, and reddish-black hair. Alice's face was a bit more on the rough side then a normal woman, but it still had some womanly appeal to it. Seeing her again, Naofumi said:

"You're the one who helped me, right?"

"Mm." Alice said while nodding her head.

As Naofumi let Alice go, coughing to try to get air in her lungs, she gestured them to follow her. Hesitant at first, but then gives in, Naofumi starts to follow this stranger he met only a few days before. Heading towards a certain shop, Naofumi recognized it. As Alice enters, she meets the owner of the store.

"Welcome." The shop owner said.

"Hey, Erhard." Alice answered as she removed her hood revealing her long reddish-black hair.

"Oh, it's you." Erhard said as he looked behind Alice to see Naofumi standing there as well. "Hey there kid."

"Hey." Naofumi said with a cold shoulder, then turned his attention towards Alice. "What are we doing here?"

"You need weapons and equipment, don't you? Think of this as an apology for not doing more." Alice responded as she turned around to fully face Naofumi.

Alice then walks up to the counter as places down the 5 silvers she had left.

"Can you give his companion something within this price range?" Alice asked.

"Are you sure he's not taking advantage…" Erhard was about to say only to be cut off by a dagger that cut into his wooden counter and landed just between his fingers." "Okay, sure."

As Naofumi saw this, he noticed scowl form on Alice's face, as well as a hint of red in her eyes.

The day came and went, as Alice, Naofumi and Raphtalia left the shop, Naofumi spoke up.

"Why did you do that?"

"Can I not stand up for the man my village worshiped?" Was all Alice said.

"What?" Naofumi said all confused.

"My village is little ways away from the kingdom of Siltvelt, the demi-human kingdom, but it lies on the border of this kingdom. We've always had adventures and traders come and go. It was always bustling with people and demi-humans alike. And on the days where it wasn't busy, the village would always gather with what they have and throw a party until the night ended." Alice stopped and rubbed her eyes before continuing. "I was always taught that the Shield Hero was the strongest out the 4 Cardinal Hero. Not because he had a weapon that could defeat an opponent, but his weapon protected all. No matter if they were his enemies or not."

"And you think I'm the same?!" Naofumi exclaimed with hatred in his voice.

"No, you're different." Alice answered as she turned her attention back at Naofumi. "You need a party. While all the other heroes were given, you are earning. If you ever need my assistance, I'll be there. I swear to that."

"Is that so?" Naofumi asked as he extended his hand. "Then give me everything you have that is of value."

Without hesitation, Alice began unclipping her cloak, her holster for her weapons, what little money she had, and just as about she was to undo her armor, Raphtalia spoke up.

"Master, I don't think she's lying."

Without responding, Naofumi walked up to Alice, placed his hand what was on the ground, picked it up and handed it back to Alice, shocking her.

"You're not going to take it?" Alice asked.

"I can't trust you just yet. But the money you gave me when we first met…" Naofumi stopped and looked Alice in the eyes. "That was all you had, huh?"

Not being able to hide her astonishment, Naofumi reached into his shield and pulled out an earing in the shape of a shield, as well as a ring.

"I can't trust you, but in order for me to find you…" Naofumi speaks as he hands over the jewelry. "Wear these from now on. Some jewelry maker came up to me and said some random woman payed him a ton of silver on the day of my accusation. Only asked for information, but said he'd be willing to work with me if I gave these to you."

"That was…" As Alice took the jewelry from Naofumi's hands, she smiled.

"So, it was you." Was all Naofumi said as he turned around and left. "Let's go, Raphtalia."

"Oh, yes, sir." Raphtalia answered as she bowed and began following her master.

Being left all alone, Alice began placing all her stuff back on. As soon as she placed her cloak back on, she placed the ring on her right middle finger and placed the earring on her right ear. Smiling, Alice knew she had begun to take small steps that will eventually lead to something greater.


	4. Chapter 4

_CLASH…_

_CRASH…_

_BOOM…_

_SHATTER…_

Alice was once again in the cave of Lute Village. Traversing deeper and deeper, monster kept bombarding her. Dodging, attacking, repeat. That is all Alice did for the entirety of the time. At least, until one certain monster got her attention. As it roared, Alice jumped back avoiding its double heads. Knowing there was no way around it, Alice made a run for it. Following close behind, the dog monster tried biting Alice again, only to grab her cloak and rip it off her as Alice jumped into the water below.

Waiting for its prey to resurface, the hound began to walk around only to see her not resurface at all and left. Surfacing from the water and coughing, Alice swam back towards the cliff she had just jumped off from. Looking around, Alice didn't see the monster that followed her. Then rushing out of the caves, Alice headed straight back for Lute Village.

_**At Lute Village…**_

Entering Lute Village, Alice looked at her equipment and began to realize something.

"Shit. I need new gear." As she said this, Alice pulls out a bag to see only 180 silvers in it. "Tsk, don't have enough. Got to save this for Sir Naofumi."

"You could use your money that you earn for yourself, you know." A voice spoke up.

Turning around to see who spoke, Alice took in a green cloak covering this adventures body. His stature reminded her of someone great. Looking at his arm, Alice noticed the shield resting on top and panicked.

"Sir Naofumi?!" Alice yelled.

"Don't yell please." Naofumi said calmly. "Remember you still have the jewelry on you. I set it so that I know if your close or not."

"Is that so?" As Alice said this, she touched the earring that hung from her right ear.

"So, Miss…" Raphtalia was going to ask something but realized she didn't know her name.

"Just call me Alice. Okay?" Alice answered with a smile.

"So, what are you doing here?" Naofumi asked.

"I came here to level up, Sir Naofumi." Alice said.

"So, is Alice your only name, or do you have a last name too?" Naofumi asked.

"Oh, please forgive me." Alice answered as she bowed. "My full name is Alice Sephare. And once again it's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Naofumi."

"Just Naofumi is fine. I'm not some royal." Naofumi responded.

"Okay. And you are…Raphtalia, right?" Alice asked as she knelt down to look at Raphtalia eye to eye.

"Yes, my name is Raphtalia. Thank you again for getting me a weapon to fight for my master." Raphtalia bowed to show her appreciation.

"No problem. If it's alright with you, may I teach Raphtalia how to properly use her sword?" Alice turned her attention away from little Raphtalia to Naofumi while rubbing Raphtalia's bushy hair.

"That'll be a great help." Naofumi said as he turned around.

As Naofumi began negotiation of the rabbit's price that Raphtalia killed, Alice began teaching her how to properly wield her sword. Swinging a stick, Alice turned around to Raphtalia to see her doing her exact movements. They continued this type of practice for 20 minutes, until Naofumi came back and called out to them.

"Hey, Raphtalia, Alice."

"Oh, master." Raphtalia said as she rushed to his side.

"Is there something you need from me, Sir…Naofumi?" Alice said looking away from embarrassment.

"Yeah. I've heard from the villagers that you're used to the caves up ahead. Would you mind being our guide for now? Oh, and just note I'm not paying you." Naofumi said as he began walking up towards Alice.

"I don't mind being a guide. And honestly, even if you said you were going to pay me, I would've declined. Afterall, I did say if you ever needed my help, I'd be there." Alice answered with a giggle.

"Alright then. Let's get going." Naofumi spoke up as he began walking towards the caves.

As they walked towards the caves, Alice began telling Naofumi the situation in the caves. Telling him there was a dog-like creature hidden in the caves, but was not aware of its location, due to her retreating as fast as she could. Understanding what she meant, Naofumi nodded, then entered the caves with more awareness and caution. As they entered the caves, with Alice being in front, and Naofumi and Raphtalia being in back. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Raphtalia spoke to Naofumi.

"Master?" Raphtalia asked. "How should I address you, Master?"

"Call me whatever you like." Was all Naofumi responded before walking up to Alice.

Rushing to catch up, Raphtalia gave a big smile, while holding the pickaxe Naofumi told her to carry. Once inside the caves, Naofumi and Raphtalia noticed all the crystals inside. Shocked by what they were seeing, Naofumi spoke.

"So, where are the better crystals that'll get a pretty good sum?"

"Oh, that would be farther down into the cave. But I wouldn't suggest it since…" Alice was then cut off by Raphtalia's ear piecing scream.

Turning their attention towards Raphtalia, both Alice and Naofumi noticed the double-headed dog. Without hesitation, Alice jumped in front of Raphtalia and practically pushed her straight towards Naofumi. As Naofumi caught Raphtalia, he heard a loud chopping noise. Looking back at Alice, he noticed that one of the dog monster's head had a hold of Alice's right shoulder. While Alice held back its left. Reacting quickly, Naofumi extended his arm and yelled.

"Rope Shield!" which then made a shield and launched a rope straight at the monster.

Now the dog was tied in Naofumi's Rope Shield, but still bit down on Alice's shoulder.

"Raphtalia! Attack it now!" Naofumi yelled knowing Alice wasn't going to hold long.

Being completely frozen at the fact that this monster was reminding her of the same monster that killed her parents, Naofumi's voice went through one ear and out the other.

"Raphtalia! Raphtalia!" Alice voice did not seem to reach Raphtalia in the slightest. It only reached the monster's ears. "Raphtalia, if you don't do something now, we're all going to die. I'm not sure what happened to you, but I lost everything during the first wave, but you see me fighting. But if you can't fight then get out here! We'll buy you time to escape!"

"Huh?" Now hearing the voice of the person who's shown her kindness, like Naofumi, Raphtalia body began to shake.

"Raphtalia…" Naofumi said calmly. "Alice is right. If you're far to scared, then get out here. But if you do, just know that I won't be able to protect you any longer. But… If you fight here and now, we can prevent other kids from going what you did!"

As Naofumi said that, he pulled on the beast. To which the beast let go of Alice's shoulder and turned its attention towards Naofumi. But in that instant, just as Alice was going to move in, a little body jumped up from a small cliff and dug her sword straight into the monster's neck. Feeling the sharp pain, the beast didn't hesitate to shake it off. As it launched Raphtalia towards the cave walls it rushed up straight towards her without hesitation. But rushing up faster, Alice stood in front of beast, crossed her arms and blasted it back with wind magic, to which she turned to Raphtalia and yelled:

"Finish it!"

Raphtalia then rushed up, and with her tiny sword, shoved it straight into its heart. As the beast backed up, Alice rushed up again and with a single slice, removed both of its heads. As soon as its body hit the ground, Naofumi rushed up to the both of them.

"Raphtalia, Alice. You both okay?"

"Huh? OH, yeah I'm fine." Alice said as she rubbed the back of her head with her left hand. "You, Raphtal…"

Before Alice could even finish her sentence, Raphtalia rushed up towards Naofumi.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia said as she jumped straight on him.

"Whoa, hey! Jeez don't do that." Naofumi responded to Raphtalia's sudden outburst.

"Please don't leave me!" Raphtalia yelled under all her sobbing.

"Then let go. You're literally hurting me. And besides I think you should be thanking someone." As Naofumi looks up towards Alice, he noticed all her armor off. Panicking he looked away. "What are you doing?!"

"Holy crap! That monster bit through my chainmail!" Alice yelled completely ignoring Naofumi's words.

Looking again, and discretely, Naofumi noticed how slim Alice's body really looked and noticed a bunch of scars and scratches on Alice's arms. Eventually, asking again to put her clothes back on, Alice tried to only to be restricted by the wound on her right shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naofumi said as he got up to check on her, only to then realize that a certain someone was still holding on to him.

Raphtalia, who hadn't let go, was still gripping onto Naofumi's waist, so his sudden movement caused her to grip even tighter and caused him to trip. Falling to the ground, Naofumi landed with a thud, or so he thought. Having his eyes shut, thinking that dust had gotten in, Naofumi tried placing his hand down only to feel a soft sensation in his hand. Upon gripping it tighter, a squeal of a maiden followed.

"Um, Sir Naofumi… If you don't mind…" a voice sounding like Alice's spoke up.

Opening his eyes, Naofumi noticed himself atop of Alice. Blushing like crazy, Alice gave quick glances at Naofumi only to be interrupted by another set of eyes.

"Master Naofumi, what do you think you're doing?!" Raphtalia yelled.

"I'm not doing anything!" Naofumi tried to defend himself by getting up only to be stopped. "Huh?"

"Oh, yes. Please take me! Leave your everlasting mark in my body!" Alice said with a smug-ass grin appearing on her face while she wrapped her legs around Naofumi's waist to keep him close.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled again.

After several minutes of teasing, Alice let go and got up only for Naofumi to stop her and look at her injury.

"The bite is pretty deep." Naofumi said. "Oh, and please don't do that again. She's still a child you know."

"I'm sorry, the chance arose, and I just took it." Alice replied with a sweet smile.

"Still thank you. I guess your words were true after all." Naofumi said as he wrapped the bit wound tightly.

Being a bit shocked at how he thanked her, Alice smiled a bit, while tears began streaming down her face. But what made her tear up even more was what Naofumi said next.

"You've always fought alone, right?" Naofumi asked as he got up after wrapper Alice's wound. "I think I could trust you after all."

"I know. It's going to… Wait, what?" Alice said as she couldn't comprehend the words that came out of Naofumi's mouth.

"You will be joining us, won't you?" Naofumi said nothing else after that, other than extending his hand back to give Alice a hand.

Trying her very best to hold in her tears, Alice smiled. Now more than ever, she's realized that she is closer than ever to gaining the trust of her beloved hero.


	5. Chapter 5

Looking at Raphtalia intensely, Alice was walking around her making Raphtalia feel a bit uncomfortable. Checking her from top to bottom, checking her tail, her clothes, then her ears, which for some odd reason, Alice felt the need to nibble on one, before finally grabbing a handful of Raphtalia's mature chest.

"Ahh!" Raphtalia shouted out as she felt Alice's hand on her chest. "Hey, Alice, what are you doing?"

"I'm actually surprised at how big you've gotten." Alice responded her fixated on Raphtalia's breast.

"What are you talking about, my height or my chests?!" Raphtalia yelled.

Grabbing at her collar, Naofumi kept his eyes closed through the whole ordeal while pulling along Alice.

"Hey, come on, if you're going to do that, you might as well put a slave crest on me." Alice said pouting her cheeks.

"Yeah, no. Don't you realize how expensive that crest was?" Naofumi asked.

"10 silver pieces?" Alice said trying to give an innocent smile.

"It's 30, you idiot."

Naofumi's life got more hectic then he had hoped for. But he was grateful, when he added Alice as a companion to his party, he level rose dramatically from a simple level 10 to level 30 in nearly one week. Raphtalia was also grateful for Alice's help, her sword skill and maneuverability had gotten better and better each day. As Naofumi looked up, he thought to himself.

"_The Waves are nearly here. If I knew where they were, I could plan out a strategy._"

Looking at Naofumi, Alice knew exactly what was on his mind. Looking down, almost forgetting of a certain someone until her tail began shaking for help. Realizing it, Alice noticed her hand atop of Raphtalia's nose, making it hard for her to breath.

"Ahh! Raphtalia! Hang in there!" Alice yelled as she began shaking the out-of-breath demi.

_**At Melormarc…**_

Naofumi was conversing with Erhard, Alice was looking at the new swords that had just come in. Then setting her eyes on one, she noticed how rusted it was, but none the less easy on the eyes. Its hilt was a bit longer than other swords, and its cross guard extended outwards and up about several centimeters. Its scabbard was a more on the rusted side making it look almost impossible to open. But what stood out most of the sword was the semi-large blue orb-like gem that laid at the end of the hilt. Going to go pick it up, Erhard looked at Alice and tried to warn her.

"Ah, be careful." He said.

"Hmm? Alice answered when the sword pulled her down with its weight. "Holy crap! How heavy is this?"

"That's what I tried to warn you about." As Erhard said this, he walked up to Alice and helped her pick up the sword. "Ready on three. One, two, three."

While both Alice and Erhard tried to lift up the sword, Naofumi looked at it. Scanning it, he noticed its composition, the metal that was used to create it and something else. Noticing Naofumi's sudden attitude, Alice couldn't help but ask.

"Naofumi, what's up?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Naofumi answered.

After placing it back, Erhard began to explain how the sword was made from a very heavy metal. Even he had a struggle to get the sword to where it was. And once again, Alice went to pick it up again, but this time with more caution. As everyone turned their attention towards Alice, she grabbed the sword's hilt, and began pulling up. Struggling to get it up, Erhard knew it was impossible to get that sword up. Letting it go, Alice closed her eyes, then remembered something her master once told her.

_**6 months before the First Wave…**_

"Don't force a sword to come out of its sheath? What? That doesn't make any sense." Alice replied.

"Listen, a weapon is your ally on the battlefield. Would you force a friend to stand in front of you to protect you from an enemy?" Her master asked.

"No, I wouldn't." Then realizing what he meant, Alice continued. "I'd ask them to stand beside me, until the end."

"That right. It's the same as a weapon. You're getting smarter each day that passes, young one." Alice's Master praised her for her response.

_**Present Time…**_

Placing one hand on the sword, Alice closed her eyes and begun pulling on it again, but it was different. There was less resistance, as she pulled the sword out, everyone realized how rusted it was. Erhard, however, didn't care how rusted it was. He was more impressed at the fact that someone like Alice was able to lift the sword out. Stepping back a bit, Alice still felt the weight of the sword, but for some odd reason, it wasn't as heavy as before. Holding it outward, Alice inspected it, before finally saying.

"Hey, Erhard. How much for this?"

"That? You want that, miss?" Erhard replied all baffled.

"I actually have to agree with him." Naofumi responded. "Why not pick something else?"

"Nope, I want this one." Alice answered both of them.

_**A Few Minutes later…**_

Alice was walking out happily with the rusted sword hanging in a sword bag. Raphtalia and Naofumi walked behind her, completely bewildered at Alice's new attitude.

"Is this alright?" Raphtalia whispered.

"Don't know." Naofumi said as he walked into a certain inn to eat.

As they begin to order, Alice gently placed the sword down. Even when placed gently, it still fell hard with a _THUD_. As everyone's gazes fell upon Alice, Naofumi sighed, not thinking much of it only to see Alice red as a tomato.

"_So, she does get embarrassed._" Naofumi thought to himself as his food was placed before him. "But still, if I knew where the waves were going to be, I can plan out a strategy."

"Oh, if you want to know that, just go to the Dragon Hourglass. You should've at least heard that come out of that filthy king's mouth." Alice answered as she took in a bite from her food, which was odd since it was a sandwich.

"Dragon Hourglass? You're right. I did hear him say something like that. So, do you know where it is, Alice?"

"You know that big church in the center of town, that's where you'll find it. They should at least let you know where the waves are." Alice answered as she took in another bite.

"You sure?" Naofumi asked.

"Positive. It's not like you're classing up." Alice answered with food in her mouth.

"Classing up? What's that?" Naofumi asked again.

"Classing up. If you check my levels and Raphtalia's, there's nothing next to them, right?" Alice stated before continuing. "Usually, and this is what I've heard, but when you reach Level 40, a star-like symbol will appear next to our names, that indicates that we're ready for a Class up."

"Is that so?" Naofumi said as he looked at his level and noticed it at level 30 just a mere 10 levels lower. "You're at level 39, Alice. So, what happens when you class up?"

"Oh, you get to decide what path you want to take. And since you don't know what the option are, you have to wait till you get there in order to choose." Alice answered as she took a sip of her drink. "But I think, I'll choose something along the lines of a swordsman."

"What about you, Raphtalia?" Naofumi turned the conversation towards Raphtalia.

"I'll be fine with whatever you choose." Raphtalia answered.

"OH, that's-" Naofumi got cut off due to some drunken men having a brawl in the little inn.

After taking care of the brawl, by lowering the two men towards the ground, Alice walked out with a bottle of booze. Drinking to her hearts content, Naofumi spoke up.

"Alice, are you drunk?"

"What? Me drunk? Really, what do you think of me, Naofumi?" Alice said as her face began looking a bit flushed.

Waving his hand in front of her face, Alice smiled as she grabbed Naofumi's hand and pulled him in. Startling him, Alice whispered into his ear.

"Who do you love more, Raphtalia or me?" As soon as Alice said this, she let go of Naofumi and fell forward into his arms.

"Master Naofumi? What did she do to you?" Raphtalia asked standing there in shock.

"She didn't do anything! I swear!" Naofumi said quickly.

As there bickering continued on through the night, a woman dressed in white with golden seams watched from a distance. Smiling sweetly, she spoke softly as to not be heard by anyone. Her words were:

"_For you who has lost all, will slowly regain it through the hard work you put in, Master Shield Hero._" As she finishes her words, she placed her right hand on a cross with a shield in front of it, most likely symbolizing protection of all.

Walking away, the woman's golden blonde hair flowed in the wind, not once looking back and continuing on the path in front of her.


	6. Chapter 6

"This way, please." A Nun of the church said as she escorted Naofumi, Raphtalia and Alice towards the Dragon Hourglass.

As they all turned the corner, they all noticed a huge golden hourglass. Its golden pillars twisted around each other, with dragons' statues rested on each pillar, as it circled the hourglass. Circular orbs that looked like eyes, began turning up and down, then vice versa as the group got closer.

"So, this is the hourglass that the king spoke about?" Naofumi said out loud.

"Yes, and this is where we can get a class up as well. At least, if we can." Alice said in a whisper as she looked at the nun who stood behind them.

Then Naofumi got closer, the orb on his shield began glowing. It then shot a beam of light straight towards the hourglass, it was at that moment when Alice felt something weird. As she looked at her sword, she started to notice it floating a little, almost as if the Shield's light was affecting it in some way. Removing it from her shoulder, and opened the sword's bag, she looked at the sword to see most of the rust that was on it began to fade away. What surprised her the most was that the orb was glowing a bit, not as bright as the Shield's but bright enough to be noticed. But her attention was drawn away from her sword by a certain over-egotistical voice.

"Is that Naofumi I see." The voice said, as Naofumi, Raphtalia and Alice turned their attention to see Motoyasu and the gang

Naofumi didn't respond, only began to walk away.

"Hey, Sir Motoyasu is talking to you!" Myne yelled at Naofumi, only to be ignored.

"Oh, my. You two are pretty." Motoyasu said as he placed his spear on his back and held both Alice's and Raphtalia's hands. "Beautiful women such as yourself should not have to carry any weapons. Let, I, Motoyasu fight for you."

Hearing this, Naofumi looked back only to see a sadistic smile form on Alice's face.

"Oh, is that so?" Alice said as her eyes showed a hint of red and grabbed her sword and held it in front of Motoyasu. "Then, be a gentleman and carry this for me."

"Oh, of course." Motoyasu said as he grabbed the sword from Alice only to be pushed slightly by Alice, straight down the stairs, and be slammed down by the weight of the sword. "Ughh, what the...what's up with this sword?"

"Hahahaha, You look like an idiot, Bou! A true idiot!" Alice yelled without containing her laughter. "No one can carry that sword but me!"

As Alice continued laughing, she began attracting the attentions of all the Nuns' in the church. At least until a certain red-head screamed back at him.

"You pick that up off of Sir Motoyasu, right now!" Myne yelled.

"And what are you going to do if I don't, cause from my point of view…" Alice eyes glowed an even darker crimson than before. "You're powerless without the king backing you up from here."

As Myne turned her attention away from Alice, Myne smiled, thinking that the heroes were going to protect her. As Myne turned around, Alice was right behind her. Looking directly into her eyes, Myne began hearing screams. As her legs began to shake, Alice closed her eyes, and her eyes turned back to the emerald green they've always been, then placing her hand on Myne's shoulder, Alice spoke softly.

"That was only a taste of what I saw. If you regret your actions, you will stay out of the Waves from this point forward. _**Otherwise, you will regret it**_." Alice's threat made something in the back of Myne's mind click back. Looking at Alice once more, she noticed her reddish black hair, causing her eyes to open even wider.

Turning towards Raphtalia, Alice grabbed Raphtalia's hand, and with her left hand motioned her to be quiet.

"Let's go Raphtalia." Alice answered.

"Huh? OH, right…Master." Raphtalia looked to her side.

And before they left, Alice was going to retrieve her sword from Motoyasu, only for it to lift itself into Alice's hand. Not thinking much of it, Alice looked down on Motoyasu and said:

"You're pathetic. You may have been chosen to be a Cardinal Hero, but not chosen as a true hero. You'll never amount to anything."

Just as Alice was about to leave, Myne spoke up.

"You were from back then, weren't you?!" Myne asked, her voice quivering in fear.

Alice never spoke, only snapped her fingers, which caused Myne to fall to her knees, due to fear. Leaving the scene, none of the other heroes spoke, only watched as Naofumi's group left the church.

_**Back at the Inn…**_

Alice was prostrated on the ground with Naofumi sitting on the bed, not looking even a slight bit angry. As he breathed in, Alice's body flinched, only for Naofumi to breath out and asked.

"Those red eyes…what was that?"

"A curse." Alice said without looking up.

"How long have you had it?" Naofumi asked.

"For as long as I can remember." Alice answered.

"How long is a long time?" Naofumi responded to Alice's response.

"Don't know." Was all Alice said causing Naofumi to become a bit shocked.

"What do you mean you don't know? That's your power, isn't it?" Naofumi asked.

Alice remained silent. Seeing this, Naofumi knew it wasn't going to be good to keep asking questions that weren't going to be answered.

"That bitch said something odd. What did she mean by 'back then?'" Naofumi asked.

"Remember how I told you that my village was a victim of the 1st Wave. Well, she was in charge of protecting it. Some protection that was." Alice said as she sat up.

"So, I'm guessing Bitch just looted your village and left it to crumble?" Naofumi asked again.

"Yup." Alice answered.

Naofumi looked like he wanted to continue talking about this 'curse' Alice had within her but stopped himself from doing so.

_**The Next Day…**_

The 2nd Wave was just an hour away. Raphtalia and Naofumi were waiting where other adventures were waiting as well.

"Master Naofumi." Raphtalia spoke up.

"What's up? Didn't find her, I'm guessing?" Naofumi responded as he turned to face her.

"I'm sorry. I looked around as fast as I could." Raphtalia answered.

"It's fine. I trust her word." Naofumi said.

"You can also trust mine." Raphtalia said as she placed her hand on her chest. "I am your sword. I'll follow you wherever you go."

Naofumi just looked at Raphtalia. Closing his eyes, he readied himself for what was to come. At the same time, in an alleyway just a few feet away from where Naofumi and Raphtalia stood, Alice was there struggling to keep herself together. Her eyes transitioned from her normal emerald colored eyes, to a dark crimson red. The transition felt so painful, it felt as if her head will explode. Knowing there wasn't going to be a lot of time left. Pulling her new reddish-brown cloak over her head, she shielded her eyes from anyone's view before exiting the alleyway and heading straight for Naofumi and Raphtalia. Seeing her, the both of them greeted Alice as they began waiting for the countdown to finish.

_**5….**_

_**4…**_

_**3…**_

_**2…**_

_**1…**_

"So, they begin once again." A woman dressed in white and gold said to herself while holding her cross. "May the Shield protect all who will fight, not for profit or gain, but for the sake of others. Good luck, Master Shield Hero."

As everyone in the plaza was transported, as the light blinded Alice, she shut her eyes to then hear Raphtalia say.

"Master Naofumi. Look, the sky."

Alice opened her eyes to see the sky distort and become a bright red with holes opening in the sky. As monster and beast alike began emerging from the sky, Alice gritted her teeth and said under her breath.

"So, it begins again. The Wave"


	7. Chapter 7

Seeing the adventures and other Heroes headed in the direction opposite of the village, Naofumi was going to follow them, but Raphtalia spoke up.

"Master Naofumi, looks. It's Lute Village!" Raphtalia yelled as she pointed in the direction of the village.

"Naofumi, what do you we do?!" Alice yelled.

"Come on. We're going…to Lute Village!" Naofumi said without hesitation as he ran for Lute Village.

Smiling at each other, Raphtalia and Alice both drew their swords and ran behind Naofumi. As they approached the village, Alice was the first to strike. Swinging with such ferocity, Raphtalia could've sworn she felt the wind.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naofumi asked as he approached.

"Yeah, thanks to this woman." The villager said as he looked at Alice.

"Now's not the time to be resting." Alice said as she picked up the villager and looked at Raphtalia. "Not to pull you away from the battle, but we need to evacuate the village, or there are going to be more casualties. Can I count on you?"

"Sure thing. If Master Naofumi agrees, that is." Raphtalia said as she looked at Naofumi.

"Go." Was all Naofumi said.

Without waiting, Raphtalia sheathed her sword and began directing all the villagers away from the village. Seeing this, both Naofumi and Alice looked at each other, then the sky.

"Well, this is going to be a very long day." Alice said as she turned her attention to the skeletons that approached.

"Yeah, you're right." Naofumi said as he readied his shield. "Let's see how long we last, shall we?"

"Yeah." Alice said as her eyes began glowing red but keeping her emerald colored eyes.

As the skeleton picked up its weapon, Alice slit its stomach. Turning around due to the momentum, it left her back exposed to the next monster, or so it thought. As the monster struck down, it caught a shield in its path. Not even wasting a second, Alice ran around Naofumi and practically swung at the skeleton's head, causing it to fly away. With that monster, Alice felt herself slowly fading away. Shaking her head, Alice focused on the battle at hand.

_**A Few Hours Later…**_

Exhausted beyond words, Alice and Naofumi stood side-by-side. Alice looked at Naofumi, who was looking in the distance.

"_What's taking them so damn long_?" Alice said to herself. "They should've been able to finish it off already."

"We're not getting anywhere." Naofumi said, as he looked at Alice and noticed her level was at 40.

Then hope arrived when both Alice and Naofumi heard a voice they were very used to.

"Master Naofumi, Alice!" Raphtalia said as she cut down the monster in front of her. "Are you both alright?!"

"You're late to the party." Alice said trying not to collapse. "But since you're here, help us out, will you?"

"Of course. I am Master Naofumi's sword after all." Raphtalia said with a smile as she readied her sword.

As they all began to face their enemies, Alice noticed the gem beginning to glow. Not knowing what that meant, she heard a sound that was all to familiar. The sound of fire magic being shot. Looking up towards the sky, she noticed flare-type magic raining down. Just standing there, not moving an inch, Alice's eyes opened wide.

"Raphtalia, Alice!" Naofumi says as he grabs the both of them, covering them in his cloak and placing his shield up.

As the magic began falling down, the magic began bouncing off Naofumi's shield. The bombardment continued for a good 30 seconds until it stopped, and an over-confident voice spoke up.

"Took them out in an instant." The man then laughed as he approached. "Huh? The Shield Hero? You're pretty stubborn, aren't you?"

"They didn't even care we were here." Alice said while holding onto Naofumi. "That bastard didn't even care. Not one bit."

Hearing Alice say that, Raphtalia gritted her teeth. As the royal guards approached, Naofumi dropped his shield, in that instant, Raphtalia rushed up and struck her sword at the man.

"Did you do that, knowing Master Naofumi was here?!" Raphtalia yelled, scaring the captain once again.

"No please. Leave me alone!" He yelled as he tried to crawl away.

"Geez. Is that really the captain of the royal guards.?" Naofumi said while sighing.

"That would be my fault." Alice said as she looked at him. "I did the exact same thing, but I managed to land a solid hit."

As Alice said this, she rushed up and blocked an oncoming attack from what looked to be an undead golem.

"Look, I hate you and you hate me. But in this moment, we have to work together. Whether we like it or not." Alice said as she swung down and took out the enemy.

"We'll buy you time to get in formation." Naofumi said as he lifted his shield. "Raphtalia, Alice, let's go!"

"Okay!" Alice and Raphtalia both said as they began swinging their swords.

Swinging left, swinging right, Raphtalia grabbed the opening left by Alice and vice versa. Always having each other backs, they left no gap for the enemies to attack. But when there was one, Naofumi would be there to block the attack and one of the girls will go in for the kill. Knocking their opponents back, Naofumi's group was leaving a huge impression on a certain knight. Smiling to no end, he was happy that someone was protecting his village. But that soon stopped when the captain shouted.

"Don't just stand there! Follow! We must support the Three Heroes!" The Captain said as he began walking away.

"Support the Shield Hero! Phalanx Formation!" The 2nd Captain spoke.

As the soldiers readied themselves, they began their assault on the monsters. Seeing this, the 1st Captain just left with two other soldiers. Seeing this, Alice's anger had reached its boiling point to which her eyes responded by changing into a dark crimson red. Trying to keep herself calm, Alice began attacking the monster that appeared. Left, right, up, down, around, under, etc.…Alice repeated these movements, impressing even the 2nd Captain, but it left her completely open. Not knowing what was going through her head, Naofumi stayed close to see what was up.

"Cowards." Alice said as she gritted her teeth and rushed into battle.

"Alice!" Naofumi yelled at her only to see his voice didn't reach.

"Master Naofumi! Look, the soldiers." Raphtalia said.

As Naofumi looked behind him, he noticed the soldiers' helping defend the village. With this, Naofumi knew that it was only a matter of time until their strength ran out. But as he thought this, he heard a gurgle sound coming from the sky, and looking up he noticed the crimson color of the sky disappear in a flash of light. Practically panting like a mad dog, Alice's eyes changed back into their original color. Walking up behind her, Naofumi placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Good work." Naofumi said.

"Yeah, you too." Alice said trying to keep her composure and also turning away from Naofumi's gaze.

Walking up to Raphtalia, Naofumi began speaking to her, but Alice was unable to hear their conversation due to another voice speaking.

"_My, my. I can't believe he still trusts you. Even though you lied to him._" The voice said.

"Shut up." Alice said gritting her teeth.

"_But even so, he asked for an explanation for this power of mine and you rejected to tell him everything about it._" As the voice said this, a hand extended outward and turned Alice's face. The figure's red eyes glowed with such ferocity that it scare even the toughest of men. "_Still, if you had let go, these people would have felt relief for their deaths. And I would have been able to take care of the monster for you. Cause remember, I'm you, and you're me. And I gave you that power._"

After hearing that, Alice's eyes opened wide and the first thing that came into view was the villagers of Lute thanking Naofumi. Sweating just a little, Alice wiped the sweat off her forehead, only to see a little kid smiling and bowing to her. Kneeling down, Alice smiled back and sent the little boy on his way back to his mother. Getting back up, Alice felt a bit light-headed but nonetheless it didn't bother her. Walking back to Naofumi, Alice realized that there was a soldier talking to him. Confused as to what that may be about, Alice approached Naofumi and asked.

"Naofumi, what was that about?" Alice asked.

"Oh, Alice. Apparently, even as a hated hero, the trash king is still meant to pay me something for my efforts." Naofumi responded.

"Huh?" Alice said.

Before Alice realized what was happening, she found herself in a dressing room with a red velvet dress in hand. Looking at the dress, Alice tried to piece together what has happened thus far. But not being able to, she just began removing her armor. One piece at a time, Alice removed her leather armor until only her undergarment was left. Looking at the dress once more she noticed how far down it went. Holding it up in the mirror and looking at herself, she noticed the dress reached just below her knees. The dress was also sleeveless, as it also hung from a person's neck. Slipping it on, Alice looked at the dress only to be disgusted by looking at her scarred arms and burned hands. Trying her best to keep herself calm, Alice heard Naofumi's voice from the other side of the curtain.

"Hey, the Tailor gave me some arm covers for you." Naofumi said from the other side of curtain. "You dressed so I can give them to you?"

"Oh, just a minute." Alice said as stuck her head out of the curtain. "You can just give them to me."

As Naofumi extended his arm out to give her arm sleeves, Alice reached out. As he looked at her arms, Naofumi hesitated a bit. Seeing this, Alice grabbed the sleeves and retracted her arms, and dove back into the changing room.

"They're disgusting, aren't they?" Alice asked.

"I…well…" Naofumi couldn't respond.

"I'm sorry." Alice spoke before Naofumi had a chance to speak.

"Sorry for what?" Naofumi couldn't help but ask.

"For lying to you." Alice answered.

"Lying?" Naofumi sounded confused. "What did you lie about?"

"I'll tell you everything after we leave the castle. Just…Just keep it a secret from Raphtalia, okay?" Alice asked.

"Is it that important that it has to be a secret between us?" Naofumi questioned.

"It's because…"

"_You betrayed her, right?_" The figure responded.

Hearing her voice again, Alice's breath began to quiver in fear. Not hearing Alice speak, Naofumi spoke up.

"Alice, remember when you approached me." Hearing him speak, Alice began to calm down. "You were the first person that I trusted before anyone else. The way you held me…I felt your fear in your arms. You were worried about me. So, it doesn't matter if you lied to me once, I'll continue to trust the person who actually extended a hand in my time of need."

Naofumi said without turning his attention towards the curtain opening behind him. Just as Naofumi was about to turn around, he felt someone fall onto him from behind, trying to look back she spoke.

"Don't look, please?" Standing behind Naofumi, Alice began to cry. "Thank you."

"For what?" Naofumi asked again.

"Everything." Was all Alice said after she removed herself from him and twirled in front of Naofumi. Smiling like there was no tomorrow, and extending her hand, Alice said, "Shall we get going?"

"Yeah, we should."

_**At Melromarc Castle…**_

As Naofumi's group entered in the castle, it wasn't unexpected that they would get glances from everyone in the room. Placing themselves at a window far from the party, Naofumi sat down with Alice just behind him. Holding her arm just below her chest, just amplified her beauty and slimness. In fact, because of this, most of the women in the room just stared at her in envy. But it was all cut short when the king presented himself and lifted his glass.

"Well done quelling the waves, Great Heroes. Now with that said, enjoy yourselves to the fullest. Cheers!"

With the King's speech over, everyone cheered and began to converse with one another. Leaving her place, Alice went to go grab something to drink, leaving Naofumi and Rapthalia alone for the time being. Grabbing a drink from the table, she heard a voice that sound all to familiar. As she looked back, she notice the general gloating about how he held his ground against a giant monster. Scoffing at it, Alice began walking back, unaware of a person also following. Just as Alice made her way back to Naofumi, she noticed Motoyasu standing there with Myne. Scared as to what might have happened, she tried to rush only to hear the same voice again.

"_Heh, don't worry so much, kay?_" The voice said as it disappeared without a trace.

As Alice tried to approach the scene, she felt something grab hold of her face, and arms. Being pulled back, Alice tried to look around only for the people around them turning a blind eye. Shocked by what she was seeing, Alice's eyes were turning red, but then felt herself become lighter. Breathing heavier, and heavier, Alice realized that there was something in the cloth that covered her mouth and nose, but was unable to think, due to her consciousness slipping in and out. Before she realized it, Alice found herself in a cell with her hands chained to the wall. As her eyes began to adjust, she heard the same over-egotistical voice speak up.

"Not so tough now, are you, little lady?" the voice said.

"Says the one who's hiding behind several steel bars." Alice replied. "Still who knew you were a coward?"

"What did you say?!" The man yelled.

"I can't hear anything, so I'm guessing were that far deep underground?" Alice said as she looked up.

"_Want me to get you out of this? Just say the word, and I'll do just that._" The voice in Alice's head said.

"You know, I can break out of this easily. So, if you want to run, just say so."

"Hmpt. Whatever, you're nothing but an infection to the 3 Heroes Church. You, the Shield Hero, and his slave don't belong here."

"Oh, well leave, just let us do so, and you won't have to hear from us again." Alice said as her eyes began glowing red, causing the general to be spooked, before running off. "He's gone. Do your thing."

In that moment, Alice flipped herself and planted her feet onto the wall, while putting pressure on her feet to keep herself up. Grabbing the chains as best she could, she hand emanated with a dark, black flame. This flame burned through the chains as if it was paper. Then, falling towards the ground, Alice landed on her feet and tumbled forward before reaching the cell entrance.

"Well, at least we're out of those." Alice replied. "Now to get out of this shit hole."

Placing her hands on the bars of the cell door, the black flame emanated again and burnt through the gate. Walking through the dimly lit hallways, only being lit by candles that looked like they were going to blow out at any given moment, Alice continued to look for a way out. Looking through every door and cell thinking that there was a way out. Just as she was reaching the end of the hallway and was about to turn around, Alice heard someone speak up.

"Who's there?" the voice said.

Now beginning to wonder who it was, Alice approached the last cell, and looked inside. Alice saw something in there but wasn't sure who it was. The person spoke again.

"Who are you?" the woman said.

"Hold on." Alice said as her eyes glowed red yet again, and called up the black flame yet again and burned through the metal door. Then rushing to the person, Alice said. "Are you okay? Who are you? And what are you doing down here?"

"My name is Éclair Seatto. And I was imprisoned for trying to protect something I believe was right."


	8. Chapter 8

"My name is Éclair Seatto. And I was imprisoned for trying to protect something I believe was right." Éclair answered Alice's question.

"Éclair…Seatto." Alice said slowing, knowing she had heard that name somewhere before.

Without wasting a seconds, Alice placed her hands on the chains that held Éclair, and closed her eyes. Upon opening her eyes, Alice's eyes went crimson red again and out of her palm came the dark mysterious black-like flame. Burning through the chains and leaving the chain marks on Éclair's wrist, Éclair gritted her teeth in pain as the flames rested on her wrist. After a few seconds Alice had gotten up and turned around, feeling herself drift farther and farther, she once again heard the voice, she so much despised.

"Aww, you're actually using for something this small. My…no, our power, is meant for a greater cause, Alice." The voice said as it began showing itself from the shadows. Her body figure, much like Alice's walked up behind Alice and placed both her hands on Alice's shoulders and whispered in her ear. "But the truth is, you're enjoying the power, aren't you?"

"Miss?" Éclair spoke up after the pain on her wrist numbed away. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alice said snapping out of her trance. But looking up slightly, Alice noticed her bangs changing color. From the bright crimson red, they were, to a dark black. Combing her hair back, she turned to Éclair and asked. "Are you just going to stand there all day, or are we going?"

"Oh, please forgive me, ma'am. I am truly grateful for your assistance but, may I ask who you are?" Éclair asked.

"Oh, right. My name is Alice Sephare. And I am party member to Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero" Alice answered with a smile.

As the two women began walking out of the prison, they did their best to avoid all the soldiers who stood on guard. Seeing all their ways of escape being blocked, Alice and Éclair continued their search for an escape.

"They have a pretty tight security." Alice whispered as she walked back the path she came from.

"Well, it is a prison." Éclair responded.

"What to do?" As Alice asked herself, she then started hearing a commotion coming from back where they were. "What's going on?"

"Yes, High Priestess. Thank you for coming to tell us, personally." One of the guards answered as he left."

In a matter of moments, the guards, one by one, left the hall leaving Alice and Éclair a path to escape. Hesitant to take it, someone spoke up.

"You best take the path in front of you, as it is your only option." As the voice said this, the woman disappeared from sight, leaving both Alice and Éclair a bit confused.

"Well, no point in waiting. I hope you know hand-to-hand combat." Alice stated.

"I know a bit of self-defense, if that helps." Éclair answered.

As both women readied themselves, they ran with all their might. Rushing out of the halls and into the courtyard of the castle. As they made it to the entrance, they ducked in the shadows of the night, making sure they were not seen. Looking out from the corner of the doorway, Alice noticed a woman dressed in a nun's outfit which looked a little different from the ones Alice was used to seeing. Its base color was a pure white, with golden seams. She was also wearing a green mantle, which was weird for Alice to see. But what was even stranger was for the fact that this nun wasn't wearing a veil, like the other nuns. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Alice turned around and began walking away with Éclair.

_**At the Arena…**_

As Alice and Éclair rushed towards the Arena with all their might to the Arena, hoping to stop whatever ordeal Naofumi was in. As they approached the entrance to the arena, Alice saw Naofumi crouched over the ground. Worried that something had happened, both her and Éclair heard a slap echo throughout the halls.

"You're a cheat!" Alice heard Raphtalia's voice yell.

Stopping in their tracks just before the entrance, Alice and Éclair began to see what all the commotion was about.

"But that's the problem." Motoyasu said as he slammed his spear onto the ground. "Someone like you shouldn't have to fight. He'll just use you until you break."

"He can't use any weapons. Someone has to fight for him!" Raphtalia yelled back "He gave me food until I couldn't eat anymore. He also gave me valuable medicine to cure my illnesses."

Naofumi isn't that type of person." Motoyasu said in shock."

"Then tell me this. Are you willing to extend your hand to a diseased slave who was on the verge of death? Well?!" Raphtalia asked in a loud voice.

"Of course, I can." Motoyasu answered hesitantly.

"Then, you would have one by your side!" Raphtalia yelled to prove her point.

Who do you think you are, you damned demi?!" Myne yelled as she raised her hand, only to stop to feel her father's hand on her shoulder. "What is it, father?"

"I suggest you begin to explain your illegal interference in this duel, Miss Malty Melromarc." A voice spoke up, which shocked both Alice and Éclair.

As the two women looked out from the doorway, they noticed a woman wearing a green mantle. As she walked up to Myne, she stood face to face with her. What scared Myne the most was the fact that this woman not only seemed to have the backing of the Pope, but she couldn't see her eyes past the black veil she wore over them.

"If you think that the Pope can protect you…" Myne was cut off.

"His Holiness can resummons the 3 Heroes if he wanted. You know he has the power to do so." The mysterious woman said.

"Oh, you wouldn't…" Myne was cut off again.

"His Holiness has declared that the Spear Hero has won, however, the Shield Hero Naofumi will be compensated for the removal of the slave crest, due to Miss Malty's interference." As soon as she said this the crowd began to yell.

Leaving it at that, the woman began leaving. Or so everyone thought, when out of nowhere a flame came hurdling towards the woman. Turning around, the flame was extinguished, and to their surprise and especially Myne, Alice was there, standing in front of the woman.

"That was pretty low, even for you. But then again, you doing something like this isn't worth questioning." Alice said as she began walking up towards Myne. Then grabbing her collar Alice said. "And next time you want to throw someone in a jail cell, don't make it so obvious."

Then, just before Alice let go of Myne, Alice pulled Myne down and kneed her stomach. As everyone saw this, Motoyasu reacted and tried to protect Myne, only to feel the back of his head get hit with something. As everyone saw this, they just stared in shock to see someone, who was not a hero, take down a hero. Now at her wits end, Alice yelled.

"You're an asshole!"

Alice's sudden outburst sent everyone in shock. Her eyes now becoming an even darker crimson red, the guards unsheathed their swords, and pointed them at Alice. Alice didn't flinch, only chuckled.

"I just knocked down your precious hero. You think you guys you can take me down?" As Alice said this, she pointed her sword straight to the king. "Listen up trash, you better compensate everything that you've done to Naofumi. That means paying him back everything you took from him. _**Do I make myself clear?**_"

"You think I'll listen to a demon…" the king was cut off by hand that extended in front of him. "High Priestess, what are you…?"

"For saving my life, I'll compensate whatever it is you lot desire. Does that work fine?" The Priestess asked.

"At least someone has a sense of morality." Alice said as her eyes switched back to green but left some red in her eyes to be seen.

As the ordeal passed, Alice sheathed her sword, and everyone began to walk away. As Motoyasu was the last to leave, Alice stopped him with her arm.

"What do you want now?" Motoyasu asked.

"Tell me, what do you believe is right?" Alice asked.

"What's right? What my comrades tell me." Motoyasu answered without hesitation.

"Then, your more gullible than it seems." Turning fully towards him Alice said, "Listen well, don't trust anything that woman says. That is all I'll tell you. Want proof? Then go to a village known as Rock Valley. That is your proof."

With those words, Alice walked over to Raphtalia and Naofumi. Standing there bewildered, Motoyasu didn't know what to do, believe her or deny her words. Leaving it at that, Motoyasu was the last to leave the arena, and looking back once more, he noticed Alice speaking with Raphtalia, who at this point had Naofumi resting on her legs, nodded at what Alice said and saw her leaving. Looking up towards the sky, and breathing in, then out, he happened to look by chance and saw the same woman he saw just minutes before.

"Isn't that…?" Now curious, Motoyasu began following the mysterious woman. "What is she doing? I thought she left with everyone?"

Now following the Priestess, he noticed her leaning on a tree. Trying his best to not be seen, Motoyasu was trying to see what was up. After a good 3 minutes, the Priestess got off from the tree and turned to where Motoyasu was hiding.

"I can see your mana; you don't have to hide, Spear Hero Motoyasu." The Priestess said in a calm, rational voice.

"You could see me?" Motoyasu asked as he walked out from his hiding spot.

"I can. Well, your mana that is." Priestess replied, as she brushed the tips of her fingers on the cloth that covered her eyes. "Though, I'm sure this is the first time we have spoken face to face. Come closer, will you? I wish to feel the presence of a Cardinal Hero."

As Motoyasu walked up, Priestess kept on motioning him to get closer. The closer Motoyasu got, the more he was able to see more and more of what she looked like, as well as the outline of her body. Aside from her blonde hair, he noticed how her skin was smooth almost as if she had not been outside in her entire life. Even though the cloak covered everything from her shoulders to just below her mid-thigh, he saw her perfect figure 8. Motoyasu couldn't help but smile upon seeing a woman he thought he'd only see in a manga or anime. Smiling as well, the Priestess couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ahh…well…" Motoyasu was cut off by the Priestess.

"It's fine. Your reaction is natural. I'm guessing that there are no women such as myself in your world?" Priestess asked.

"Not there's not." Motoyasu answered honestly, before realizing something. "Oh, I don't think I've ever heard your name?"

"There's no need for you to know my name just yet. But you will in due time. And even though I'd wish to service you in ways that may seem inappropriate, that will have to wait." Upon hearing that, Priestess heard Motoyasu's heart skip a beat. Not being able to contain it any longer, Priestess began laughing causing Motoyasu to blush. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to laugh. But you best believe Miss Sephare's words. After all, she was once a resident of the small village known as Rock Valley."

After saying those words, Priestess disappeared without a trace, causing Motoyasu to look around frantically. Not seeing her anywhere, caused Motoyasu to actually think for once. And just before he left, he noticed a monster egg on the ground. Wondering what it was, he picked it up and took it with him, unaware of the presence the lurked behind him.

_**At the destroyed town of Rock Valley…**_

As the sun began rising on a new day, a cloaked figure sat on the edge of a cliff. As he felt the wind of the sea blow against him, he opened his eyes to reveal them be a golden-yellow, shining just a bright as the morning sunlight. As he just watched the sun rise above the sea, something approached him from behind. Not even turning around, the man spoke.

"So, you don't recognize this place?" He asked.

"No, but I keep telling you, I'm not this Lifana you keep speaking about." The figure spoke as it approached the man.

"Is that so? I for sure thought you were her reincarnation. But I guess I was asking for too much." As the man said this the wind blew strongly, causing both the hoods that covered their heads to come flying off. "The wind blows strongly, a storm approaches."

"You right. Shall we get going, Papa?" The figure said as the man turned his attention away from the sea to the figure behind him to reveal a female demi-human, who looked to be ~15ish, with racoon-like ears, and a long, thin tail. Both of which were a light tan.

"Yes, let's get going, Lenn." The man said as he began to walk away.

"Okay." Lenn responded with a smile and began to run to her "father's side."


	9. Chapter 9

_**At the Slave Trader's Market…**_

Grunting with a slight pain over her chest, Raphtalia smiled as a new slave crest was painted on.

"You do realize that there was no need to get another one, right Raphtalia?" Alice asked as the slave trader walked away.

"She's right. Even Lord Iwatani was against it." Éclair added.

"It's fine. I no longer think of it as a burden, but as a symbol of Master Naofumi's faith in me." Raphtalia answered both Alice and Éclair, who just looked at each other and gave a slight giggle.

"Well, if she's alright with it, then I won't stop her." Naofumi responded.

Seeing the paint, the slave trader used, Naofumi picked it up and began pouring it over his shield. Seeing a new shield being unlocked, Slave User's Shield, Naofumi heard Raphtalia say something.

"So, um, Master Naofumi, what do you think?" Raphtalia says as she presses her arms against her chest to try and emphasize her womanly charm.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" Naofumi said as he looked at Raphtalia.

"Never mind." Raphtalia answers to which Alice and Éclair cover their eyes in embarrassment to see Raphtalia's little effort go down in flames.

Looking to her side, Alice noticed some monster eggs with a weird symbol on it. Now her attention was completely on it.

"Oh, are you interested in those?" The Slave Merchant said as he suddenly appeared in Alice's peripheral vision.

"Ahh! Geez! Don't do that. But beside the jump scare, what are these?" Alice asked.

They're monster lottery eggs. Pay 100 silvers, and you're guaranteed a least a filolial." The merchant said.

"A filolial?" Naofumi asked.

"It's those giant birds that pull carriages around town, Lord Iwatani." Éclair spoke.

"Oh, those birds?" Naofumi says as he begins to remember seeing dark tan feathered birds pulling carts around.

"And that monster chick will double in value if you raise it well. And what's more, if you hit the jackpot, you'll win a dragon. And might I add that those babies go up for 20 gold pieces!" The Slave Merchant added without waiting for anyone to tell him to continue.

"What is this, a gacha game?" Naofumi and Alice said at the same time.

"Hmm?" Naofumi said as he turned his attention to Alice, who at the same time looked back at him. "Alice, do you…"

"Ahh!" Alice yelled.

* * *

_**A Few Minutes Later…**_

"Why did I end up buying four?" Alice said in defeat as she held a basket containing four monster eggs.

"Well you did panic, Alice." Raphtalia said "But still I've never seen you panic like that before."

"Yeah, why did you panic?" Naofumi asked as he opened a door to a certain medical shop.

"Don't ask." Was all Alice said before hearing a slight chuckle coming from Éclair.

As Naofumi began talking to the Medical Shop owner, Alice and Éclair were conversing.

"So, would you mind telling me what was so funny, Éclair?" Alice asked.

"Oh, forgive me. But it seems like your interactions with Lord Iwatani makes life a bit more interesting." Éclair said with a smile for a first, causing Alice's heart to skip a beat. "Is something the matter, Miss Alice?"

"OH, well…would you mind if I called you…" Alice said the rest of her sentence in a whisper causing Éclair to come a bit closer.

"I'm sorry. May you repeat that?" As Éclair got closer, Alice began to blush more profusely.

"Never mind!" Alice yelled a bit, grabbing everyone's attention. "Sorry."

As the entire group began to leave the medical shop, Naofumi was looking at the book that the shop owner gave him.

"Man, I honestly wish there was a skill that allowed me to read this language." Naofumi said as he closed the book and sighed.

"Oh, there is a skill." Alice said as she walked up behind him.

"There is?" Naofumi asked as he turned his attention to Alice.

"Yeah, it's called studying." Alice said with a smile spreading across her face. "If it's alright with you, I'll be willing to teach you."

"Can you?!" Naofumi said as he held both of Alice's shoulders.

"Yeah, sure." Was all Alice said.

As Naofumi and Raphtalia when to the magic shop, Alice and Éclair went for Erhard's shop to grab some equipment for Éclair. Upon entering, they noticed Erhard with a large box in hand.

"Hey, Erhard…what's with the box?" Alice asked as soon as she entered the shop.

"Oh, Miss. Good timing, this box is addressed to you." Erhard said as he placed the box on the counter. "So, who's the lady?"

"Oh, this is…" Alice was cut off by Éclair.

"My name is Éclair Seatto. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Oh, it's… wait Seatto?" Erhard said before putting two and two together. "You mean, Master Seatto, the Queen's right-hand man?!"

"Yes, that's correct. I am his daughter." Éclair said casually, before turning to Alice. "Miss Alice?"

"Oh, so that's where I heard the name before." Alice said all casually.

"Umm, Miss, how are you not shocked by this?" Erhard asked.

"Hmm? I don't know." Alice said while in the back of her head. "_Holy crap! She's Master Seatto's daughter. The Lord of my village! And I was just casually walking around town with her! What is wrong with me?!_"

After a few minutes of having both Erhard and Éclair chat and finding new gear for Éclair, Erhard turned his to Alice's basket.

"Hey, Miss. What's that?" Erhard pointed to Alice's hand, which held the basket.

"Oh, these are filolial eggs. Naofumi said he'd be willing to raise them, if I help him with something else." Alice answered before hearing the curtains to the dressing room open. "All done?"

"Yes, but where are we going to get the money for all this? Seems quite expensive." Éclair answered as she looked at her black shirt with a golden-brown top that went down as it covered the buttons and her shoulder. It also had a red jewel at the base of her neck. Her pants were a just a plain white pair. As for her weapon, a rapier with a thinner blade than usual rapiers. Its hilt looked similar to a normal swords hilt, with a crosspiece extending just wide enough for a person's hand to fit.

Looking back at the box, Alice spoke.

"Well…" Alice said turning towards the box. "Let's hope that whatever is in this box, has some type of value."

"Hopefully, cash." Erhard added.

As Alice began to pry open the lid, almost as if it was timed, Naofumi walked into the shop to see Alice struggling.

"Alice…what are you doing?" Naofumi asked.

"Oh, Naofumi…Just give me a…SECOND!" Alice yelled as she pulled off the lid and fell back on her butt. "Ow, that hurt."

Upon opening the box, Naofumi walked up to see 5 crystal balls, one of which was in a bag with a string tied on the top, as well as two other bags. Lifting one of the bags up, Naofumi opened it to see a bunch of silver in it.

"Holy crap! This is a lot of silver!" Naofumi yelled before turning his attention back at Alice, who was just getting back up. "Did you win the jackpot or something?!"

"The jackpot?" Alice asked to see a bag of silver in Naofumi's hand. "What the…oh wow, she really did keep her word."

"Who kept her word?" Erhard couldn't help but ask.

"The Hight Priestess of the Pope." Éclair said, after grabbing a couple silvers and handing it to Erhard.

"The High Priestess? OH, her? Wait! Her?!" Erhard made the conversation more confusing then he needed it to be.

"Huh?" Everyone said in unison.

* * *

_**At Lute Village…**_

Carrying the box that held all their money, as well as the crystal balls, Naofumi kept looking back at Alice who at this point, was completely focused on the eggs that she held in the basket. As he sighed, Éclair walked up to Naofumi and spoke.

"Lord Iwatani, is everything alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, Éclair. Yeah, everything's fine. It's just…" Naofumi stopped himself. "Never mind. It's nothing."

* * *

_**At the Church of the Three Heroes…**_

In a grand room, with only one giant window granting light to the room, the High Priestess knelt in front of the alter praying. As her head was looking toward the ground, a door in the back of the room opened. Lifting her head, and standing up, the Priestess turned around to see one of the other Nuns.

"What is it?" Priestess asked.

"Master Motoyasu wishes to speak with you, High Priestess." The woman answered.

"Let him in." The Priestess answered as she smiled.

As Motoyasu let himself in, Priestess motioned for the nun to leave. As the door shut, Motoyasu spoke up.

"Okay, first off, hi again. And secondly…" Motoyasu pulls out a big, over bloated looking chick. "…what is this?!"

"Oh, my. I never would've expected it to grow so much in just a day." The Priestess said as she walked up to Motoyasu to get a closer look at the black-feathered filolial.

"Piiya!" The black-feathered filolial chirped as it jumped onto the Priestess shoulder and began climbing her hair onto her head.

"I guess even when I was not around, it recognizes a who the good person is." The Priestess said as she walked up to the alter behind her and grabbed a piece of bread from the basket. "Have you named it, Spear Hero Motoyasu?"

"No, I haven't. Don't want to become too attached to it." Motoyasu said bluntly.

"Ohh, that's too bad. Chloe would've been a great name for her." The Priestess spoke as she picked up the filolial from her head and held her in her arms.

"I thought I told you not to name her!" Motoyasu yelled. "Besides, the bird's not the only thing I wanted to talk about."

"Hmm? What else did you want to talk about?" The Priestess said genuinely confused.

"I spoke to Myne about the village known as Rock Valley." As soon as Motoyasu said that, the High Priestess began to grit her teeth. "She said that a village like that doesn't exist."

"And you believe her?" The Priestess asked, her voice sounding more and more monotone.

"I do. Because she's my partner." Motoyasu said.

"Then you're more gullible than I first imagined. I was planning on giving you my full assistance, but if you plan on believing a woman who is willing to kill anyone who stands in her way, then…" the Priestess put the know sleeping filolial in the basket where all the bread was, and turned fully to Motoyasu., only to stop upon hearing footsteps. "OH, no."

"Oh, no, what?" Motoyasu couldn't help but ask when the Priestess grabbed him by the hand. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Just shut up and hide. If she sees you here, it's going to be pretty bad." Priestess said.

As the two began struggling, with Motoyasu trying his best to stay standing, and the Priestess trying to put him down, the door to the room began to open. Looking at the door, the Priestess managed to push Motoyasu down, and entered in Myne. Acting like they were the best of friends, Myne spoke.

"Helloooo! How've you been?!" Myne said playfully.

Ah, First Princess Malty. What a surprise." Priestess said with an awkard smile on her face, while she sat down with her hands rested in between her legs.

"Oh, nothing much. Just thought I drop by and say hello." Myne answered.

"Oh, is that so?" Priestess asked before shifting in her seat, trying her best to keep her legs still. "Well, that is thoughtful, but this is the first time you've ever done so."

"Oh, come on. We grew up together, didn't we?" Myne said with a slight laugh.

As the conversation continued, Priestess placed both of her hand in the center of both her thighs. After a good minute, Myne spoke up again, changing her tone.

"Still, why did you help that idiot of a shield?" Myne asked.

"Huh? I'm not sure I understand." Priestess answered.

During Sir Motoyasu's battle with the Shield Hero. Why did you intervene?!" Myne raised her voice.

"It was necessary. The Queen…" The Priestess was interrupted.

"Don't you dare bring my mother into this!" Myne yelled.

"Why not? At this point, I do believe her shadows told her of you persuading your father to summon all heroes in Melromarc." The Priestess said as she tried to get herself comfortable only to feel something squish in between her legs, causing her to yelp.

"What was that?" Myne asked

"Oh, nothing. My leg just fell asleep, that's all." As the Priestess says this, she places her hand over the small lump. "Ahh!"

"Okay… So, as I was saying…" The Priestess yelped again, causing Myne to get even more confused. "Are you sure you're alright?! You're acting strange."

"I'm…fine… *another yelp*" Now embarrassed beyond words, Priestess looked down to see Motoyasu's mana aura begin to change. "_What are you doing?!_"

"You say something?" Myne asked as she looked back from looking around the room.

"No nothing at all." The Priestess answered her face. As she looked down. She began regretting her decision as to where Motoyasu should hide.

Motoyasu was hiding underneath the Priestess robe. To his surprise, there was a false bottom, right under the priestess chair with a small room inside, but the Priestess told him not to enter, so Motoyasu just placed his feet in and sat right in between her legs. To him it was Heaven, but he knew that Judgement Day was approaching for him and thus, like any man, he took advantage of the situation. As the two women continued talking, it really wasn't much, just typical stuff on how Naofumi is getting Myne's nerve and whatnot. But ever so often, Motoyasu would shift to get comfortable and his little shifts would cause his hair to brush against the Priestess thigh and cause her to yelp or make some other weird, sexual noises.

"_I am so dead after this._" Motoyasu thought to himself only to then realize something. "_Wait hold on, why am I hiding to begin with? It's Myne for crying out loud. But then again, if I just crawled out right now, it wouldn't look to good. But then again…_"

As Motoyasu kept on internally arguing with himself, he wasn't paying attention to the conversation that was happening just outside of the cloth. But then one word caught his attention that caused him to stop his argument.

"I can't believe everyone fell for that lie." Myne said trying to contain her laughter.

"And what lie is that?" the Priestess asked trying to bait Myne into confessing.

"You know. The lie where Naofumi raped me." Myne said with a smile spreading across her face. "Just thinking about it makes me burst with laughter. I mean, don't you know how easy it was to turn the other heroes against him?"

"No, I wouldn't. But just remember we need…" The Priestess was cut off again.

"If you're going to say we need all heroes then you're only being deceived. Melromarc only need the Great Three, no shield needed.

"Alright, enough. Have only come to gloat on how you successfully turned the entire city of Melromarc against Shield Hero Naofumi, then leave." The Priestess pointed towards the door.

"No, I actually have a reason for being here. I need your stamp of approval." Myne asked.

"What for? Couldn't you have asked the Pope?" The Priestess answered Myne's question.

"It's so that I can make Motoyasu lord of whatever the name of that village was." Myne waved her hand as she said that.

"You didn't call him Sir. Where the honorific?" The Priestess asked.

"I don't want to get too attached I mean, they're only useful pawns for my plans of becoming the next Queen." Myne said confidently.

"Is that so?" The Priestess answered. "Well, make sure to get the documentations and bring them in tomorrow. I'll make a decision then."

"Thank you." Myne said after getting up and leaving the room.

Both the Priestess and Motoyasu sighed at the same time. Looking down, the Priestess couldn't help but smile at the situation she was in. Lying like that with a straight face, made her feel warm inside. But it didn't last long. Thinking about the conversation she just had with Myne, the Priestess hoped it didn't affect Motoyasu in any way.

"Lower your head, please?" The Priestess asked. In less than a second, she felt Motoyasu's hair brush against her thigh.

Standing up, the Priestess lifted her robe, granting Motoyasu a way out. Inching his way out from the entrance, big enough to hold two people, Motoyasu stood up with a look of betrayal on his face. Feeling guilty about it, the Priestess turned around not wanting to look at Motoyasu.

"Forgive me." Was all she said to Motoyasu.

"It's not your fault. It was mine for being so blind." Motoyasu answered.

"Now that you know, what are you going to do?" the Priestess asked.

"I…"


	10. Chapter 10

Alice was asleep on the desk in the room where everyone in Naofumi's party stayed the night. As the morning rays of the sun shined through the window, Alice began to wake up, only to hear the sounds of a shell cracking. Opening her eyes, she noticed the eggs beginning to hatch. Standing up suddenly, she yelled in a whisper.

"_Everyone! Wake up!_"

As everyone got up, Raphtalia being the last one, they all watched as the eggs began to hatch. The first one to hatch was a cherry pink filolial, followed by a white pink filolial, then a golden yellow, then lastly a baby blue. The first filolial jumped straight into Alice's arm, the second jumped onto her shoulder, only to use it as a springboard to get onto Naofumi's head. The baby blue filolial just pecked at the desk, while the golden yellow filolial was…

"Gone." Raphtalia said as she looked around for the 3rd filolial. "Where did it go?"

Trying to contain their laughter, Naofumi, Éclair and Alice, were trying not to ruin the fun the filolial was having, by nesting in Raphtalia's hair.

"What's so funny?" Raphtalia asked as she turned around to face them.

"Oh, nothing." Naofumi said as he tried to suppress his laughter.

In that moment, the golden filolial popped out of Raphtalia's hair, causing everyone to burst out laughing. Looking up, Raphtalia saw the filolial looking down at her, just bobbling its head from side to side.

"Well, we better think of good names for them." Alice said with a chuckle after calming down.

"You're right. Perhaps we should all name one." Naofumi said. "Okay, Raphtalia, you take the one on your head. Alice, you take the one in your arms. I'll be taking the one on my head, and Éclair, you take the blue one."

"Right." Everyone answered simultaneously.

_**Back In Melromarc…**_

Placing a saddle on a horse, Motoyasu looked like he was preparing to leave, when someone came out from the shadows.

"What is it?" Motoyasu answered, looking defeated, and frankly not in a good mood.

"I just came here to say, that you will always have my assistance." As the Priestess says this, she pulled out a crystal ball that looked to be drained of mana. "So, if you ever need assistance, don't hesitate to contact me."

"How…how could I have been so foolish?" Motoyasu said as he looked in the castle's direction.

"It wasn't your fault. This world probably would have been better off not being saved." The Priestess said as she looked down, causing Motoyasu to look at her. "But, even so…please save our home."

Seeing someone like her bow towards him, caused Motoyasu to snap out of his depressive state.

"I know we look like a place that doesn't need any protection, but I can assure you that this world still has beauty to it. So please…please save my home." At this point, the Priestess was about to go into tears only to feel herself being pulled into an embrace far tighter than she had ever expected. "Spear Hero…Motoyasu?"

"I'll be sure to return to save your home, so…" Motoyasu stopped to look at the Priestess in her eyes. "…can you wait for a little?"

"I'll be waiting for your return, Cardinal Hero." She said with a smile.

_**A few minutes later…**_

Looking back at the large city of Melromarc from the mountain tops, Motoyasu remembered the last thing the Priestess told him before he left.

"There is something that Melromarc doesn't want to you heroes to know."

"What's that?" Motoyasu asked as he began to mount his horse.

"There are more than one Wave. The Waves you've been seeing, are only one of many." The Priestess answered causing Motoyasu to become very shocked.

"How…how will I ever find the other Waves?" Motoyasu asked as he was still shocked by the news.

"Look for more Dragon Hourglasses, they will lead you to the other Waves." As the Priestess says this, she hands over a book that had a spear, sword, bow and shield in a circle with each other. "This book shall help you. Not sure if you could read our language but keep it with you if you are ever lost."

_**Present time…**_

Closing his eyes, Motoyasu set off, not once looking back at the city of Melromarc. As the city began to grow smaller and smaller with the distance, Motoyasu looked at his feathered companion.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Chloe." Motoyasu said as the now named black-feathered filolial Chloe jumped onto Motoyasu's shoulder. "Let's do our best from now on, okay?"

Almost like she answered his question, Chloe squawked before Motoyasu snapped the reigns to get the horse to run.

_**The Next Day…**_

Raphtalia was running after a little figure that ran within the tall grass of Lute Village. As Raphtalia dove into the tall grass, the golden filolial, now a little bigger than the day before, jumped into the air far out of Raphtalia's reach.

"Hey, come on!" Raphtalia yelled as she got up. "Kou stay still. Oh, come on, please?!"

"Looks like Raphtalia has it hard." Éclair said with a giggle as she begins brushing her hand against the sleeping blue filolial's head. "Don't you think, Aqua?"

Aqua, about the same size as Kou, didn't answer just snuggled into Éclair's lap. As Éclair looked at both Alice and Naofumi, Alice was focused on the cherry pink filolial, while Naofumi was focused on his.

"I feel like Sakura is a little less mature than Aqua, don't you think Naofumi?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, whatever." Naofumi said before continuing. "I still can't believe you tricked me into naming her."

"Hehe. It was your fault for answering the question." Alice said with a smirk before realizing something. "Oh, by the way Naofumi..."

As Alice was about to talk, she heard what sounded to be a clocks hand ticking, but the event was interrupted by Raphtalia diving straight into Alice. All the while, Kou was jumping up and down on Raphtalia's back.

"Master Naofumi…help me." Raphtalia said all exhausted and frankly not looking to good either.

"Kou." Was all Naofumi had to say for Kou to listen and jump onto his shoulder. "It's not that hard."

"Probably not for you." Alice said as she lifted her head only to press against Raphtalia's breast.

"Ahh! Hey, don't get up!" Raphtalia shouted.

"Why not? He might actually be enjoying it. Isn't that right, Nao~fum~mi?" Alice said a smoothly and seductively, only to see Naofumi turn away in a matter of seconds. "See?"

"What are they doing?" Éclair said before she turned her attention to some villagers looking a bit worried. "What's going on?"

_**At the end of the day…**_

All the filolial had gotten too big to the point it almost became impossible for Naofumi to carry them alone.

"Wait, why am I the only one carrying them?!" Naofumi yelled as he turned to his party.

"Well, we were holding them, but…" Alice said as she felt herself become light-headed. "Whoa."

"Miss Alice, are you alright?" Éclair asked only to see her words were going in one ear and out the other.

"Alice?" Raphtalia said Alice's name only to get the same result.

Now, not being able to hear anyone else voice, Alice began to cover her ears. Then what seemed like an eternity, she heard a voice Alice would've rather forget.

"_**Your time is almost up. Whether you like it or not, I'll be coming out.**_" The voice said, causing Alice to begin shaking. "_**So, you best enjoy the time you have…**_"

"Alice!" Naofumi yelled, causing Alice to snap out of whatever trance she was in.

"Naofumi." Alice said before collapsing.

_**Later that night…**_

As the cold spring air blew across the tall grass of Lute Village, Alice stood under the enormous number of stars that shone without a care. As she closed her eyes, Alice began to remember her time in Rock Valley.

_**3 Days Before the Waves…**_

"Huh?! You leaving again?" A young beastman demi-human yelled, causing a brighter red-haired Alice to cover her ears.

"Yeah, I am. And next time, don't go yelling it to the entire village." Alice replied.

"But why now of all times?" The demi asked.

Alice didn't answer, only remembered the blood she had on her hands as well as smelling the iron that rose from the dead body. As she remembered this, it caused her to instinctively cover her mouth.

"Big Sis Alice?" A brown-hair raccoon answered.

"It's nothing. Keel, take care of Raphtalia." Alice answered as she grabbed her bags and threw them over her shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

As Alice said this, she began to walk away without ever turning back to look at her village. Then stopping just before the village had left her vision, Alice looked back. Gritting her teeth, unbeknown to Alice her hair had begun to grow darker.

_**Present Time…**_

Opening her eyes once again, Alice spoke up.

"I thought I snuck out perfectly, but I see your eyes can't really be deceived, huh?" Alice said as she turned around and gave an embarrassed look.

"Well, I was betrayed. So, I developed a keen sense of sight." Naofumi responded as he walked up.

"Well, that is true." Alice said with a chuckle as Naofumi walked up beside her.

"So, are you okay?" Naofumi asked. "You gave everyone a bit of a scare."

"Haha, is that so?" Alice forced a smile, before continuing. "_**It's not every day you get to be free.**_"

"What did you say?" Naofumi asked quickly.

"Hmm? I didn't say anything." Alice said.

"_**I nearly had it**_." The voice spoke in Alice's head, causing Alice to shiver. "_**I'm almost free. You can feel it, can't you, Alice?**_"

"Alice?" Naofumi asked as he noticed Alice holding her shoulders.

"Huh?" Alice said as she turned her attention towards Naofumi. "What is it?"

"You were going to tell me the truth." Naofumi said. "But it's alright if you don't want to."

"No, I will." Alice answered quickly. "I just need to clear my head."

After taking a few deep breaths, Alice continued.

"I guess I'll start from just a week before the 1st Wave."


	11. Chapter 11

_**At Melromarc's 3 Heroes Church…**_

In the lowest depths of the church, chains rattled throughout the halls. As the echoes became louder and louder, a room began to glow with a warm, golden glow. As a muffled voice began to be heard, it sounded to be in a lot pain. As the toes of the mysterious person touched the glowing light, and her hands being hung in chains that appeared to be draining the mana out of the woman as well, her blonde hair began looking a bit fuzzy. As she tried her best to hold back her screams of agony, the Priestess held her eyes shut, not wanting them to be seen, due to the fact that the cloth that covered her eyes were removed. As her eyes began to open slightly, the Priestess noticed several people covered from head to toe, chanting and praying. With each word that left their mouths, she felt her mana get drained more and more.

"That is enough." A calm, stern voice spoke up.

"Yes, Pope." As the man said this, he waved his arm and the people that surrounded the Priestess stopped their chant, leading to the magic circle to stop glowing. "I still can't believe God gave his power to her of all people."

"God has his reasons. Probably due to the fact that she is equal to everyone, no matter their rank." The Pope spoke.

"But still…" The man was cut off by the wave of the Pope's arm.

"Make sure to feed her enough to keep her alive, after all…" The Pope turns his attention back to the Priestess, only to see her being lowered onto the magic circle, then begins to walk away. "She need to be alive to tell us where the Spear Hero is."

As every person in the room left, the Priestess laid on the ground for a good few minutes before struggling to get up. As she struggled, she opened her eyes to reveal them to be a light blue. Then, when she finally managed to get up, she looked toward the ceiling and said.

"I pray for your well-being, Spear Hero Motoyasu. I hope you are able to overcome the obstacles that lay in front of you."

As she says this, the Priestess closes her eyes only to feel a strong presence of dark magic. Shocked by this, the Priestess looked up to the ceiling, only to see nothing out of the ordinary.

"_What was that?_" The Priestess thought.

_**Meanwhile, in a remote plain, just 20 miles from the City of Melromarc…**_

As fire crackled and burned beside him and a fully grown black-feathered filolial, while laying on her a demi-raccoon, Motoyasu looked towards the man that sat in front of him, who looked like he knew where he was the entire time.

"Haa." Motoyasu exhales in defeat. "Yeah, it no use. I don't know where we are."

"Haha, well it does take a while to get used to looking at a map then trying to figure out where you are." The man responded with a chuckle. "Still, is this your first time traveling, Sir?"

"Yeah, it is. My parents never let me out of the house until now." Motoyasu said.

"Wow, they must have been some parents, not wanting to let their child wander and explore." The man answered.

"Hmm, you're right on that mark." Motoyasu said as he placed his hands on the back of his head and laid down staring toward the night sky.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, the name's Levi. The cutie over there, her name is Lenn.

"Levi and Lenn, huh?" Well my name is Mo- Kitamura Masamune." Motoyasu lied trying his best to hide his identity.

"Kitamura Masamune, huh? That's a pretty weird name." Levi answered after hearing Motoyasu's name. "Mind if I just call you Kitamura?"

"Yes, I'd actually prefer that." Motoyasu replied.

"Is that so?" Levi laughed a bit before continuing. "So, what are you doing all the way out here, Kitamura?"

"I was planning on heading for Rock Valley. Was hoping I could meet Nao- the Shield Hero there, since I heard he's really liked by the demi-humans." Motoyasu answered only to see Levi's face change from a curious nature to a depressive state. "Is something wrong?"

"So, they even kept that a secret, huh?" Levi said.

"What do you mean?" Motoyasu asked.

"During the first wave, Rock Valley was destroyed." Upon hearing this revelation, Motoyasu finally realized why both Alice and the Priestess attitude were how they were. "As far as I know, there are only a few survivors, but now I'm not so sure."

"Do you know where the survivors are?" Motoyasu asked.

"As far as I know, they are in a country run by a demi tormentor. I think his name was…Idol Rabier." As soon as Levi said that name, Lenn's tail began to bush up in anger. Seeing this, Levi walked over to her and placed his hand on her head, which began to calm her down.

"Does that happen a lot?" Motoyasu asked.

"Yeah, I keep telling her she might be a reincarnation of someone I used to know, but she keeps denying it. Then again, she could've been a slave to that man herself." Levi replied to Motoyasu.

"Would you mind taking me to where this Idol person is?" Motoyasu asked knowing he might be turned down.

"I don't mind, but it's a long journey, probably a few days." Levi asked.

"I have time to spare." Motoyasu answered quickly.

Now, having a guide, Motoyasu knew he was getting somewhere. But trying to find a better mode of transportation, Motoyasu's train of thought was cut short by an ear-piercing scream.

"Ahh! What the…" As he turned his attention towards the scream, he noticed Lenn holding tightly onto Levi. "Is everything alright?"

"This happens sometimes. Don't know what the cause is, though." Levi said as he began trying to calm Lenn down.

After a few minutes, Lenn ragged breathing had begun to calm down. But seeing the entire thing unfold, reminded Motoyasu of Raphtalia for some reason. Looking away with guilt in his eyes, Levi looked back slightly before turning his attention back to Lenn.

_**The Next Day…**_

As the group began to making their way to Lute Village for a stop for supplies, Motoyasu was looking around frantically. Before entering the village, Motoyasu heard about the Shield Hero being there. Not wanting to cause more trouble than he was already in, Motoyasu tried to cover himself as best as he can, only to then hear…

"Kou! Slow down!" A voice yelled as it zoomed past Motoyasu, just as he was putting on his hood.

"That wasn't who I thought it was, was it?" Motoyasu said to himself, only to hear another voice come rushing along.

"Oh, crap. There goes Raphtalia. Maybe we should put some sort of crest on Kou." The voice said.

"Yeah, you're right." Another responded, which made Motoyasu's body stiffen in fear. "Well, we better go get them. Hmm?"

"Uhh…" Was all Motoyasu said before turning around to leave.

"Hey, you?" The voice called out to Motoyasu.

"Huh? Oh, me?" Motoyasu was now scared out of his mind, because of who he saw.

"Yeah, you." Naofumi said looking as angry as ever, as he picked up a bag full of cash that sat right next to Motoyasu. "Don't drop your bag. Next time it happens, I'm keeping it, you hear?"

"Oh, thank you." Motoyasu said before rushing off.

"Weird guy. Well anyways…" Alice said as she turned away from Naofumi. "_**I'll go after the trouble-makers.**_"

As she left, Naofumi just looked at her like he never knew her. The conversation they had the night before still lingered in his head.


	12. Chapter 12

**A.N: Hey sorry for not posting I was working on a chapter for this but ended up taking longer than expected, due to writing and re-writing, also doing some catching up with anime, so, I just skipped it. I'll be sure to put it in when I'm confident enough.**

**Also thank you for the 95 favs and 104 follows.**

* * *

_**Within the Castle of Melromarc…**_

The High Priestess was seen waiting in front of the Royal Hall door just barely entering when something spoke to her from the shadows.

"I daresay, I have a message for you."

Turning her attention towards the voice, the Priestess saw a woman dressed in a cloak that reached just above her thighs, a long-sleeved shirt, and shorts, with what looks to be a masquerade mask.

"Oh, it's you." The Priestess says almost as if she was used to this sort of behavior. "So, what does she want me to do now?"

"Her Majesty wishes to know where the Spear Hero is. That is all." The shadow spoke.

"Tell her I don't know. He hasn't contacted me. I fear that he may have a target on his head, as myself." "The Priestess says as she looks to her left, to see the shadow disappear without a sound. "Well, no point in waiting here."

The Priestess opens the wide, large doors, and enters the Royal Hall only to feel the eyes of several people wondering why someone like her was there.

The King then spoke when the Priestess bowed to show her respect.

"I thank you for coming on such short notice." The King spoke highly, causing the Priestess to click her tongue quietly. "It has come to my attention that you were the last person to see Sir Motoyasu, so I'll ask, where is he?"

"As I have stated before, I have no authority nor the position to ask where the Cardinal Heroes may be. If they wish to leave Melromarc, then they may do so without resistance." The Priestess answered.

"Oh, forget positions, without the great Spear Hero our country will fall!" The King yelled while slamming his fist down on the arm of his chair.

"_And who's fault do you think it is why he decide to leave?_" The Priestess whispered with her head down. "Forgive me for saying, but don't you think this is for the best?"

"What did you say?!" Myne intervened

This shocked the Priestess a bit. Not only was she not aware of Myne being there, but now she at a loss for words. After a few seconds, the Priestess managed to get her words out.

"I said it was for the best. There are more Waves to deal with than those of Melromarc." The Priestess answered.

"NO!" The King's sudden outburst shocked everyone, all except the Priestess. "Tell us where the Spear Hero is, or else…"

"And you do know that I am protect by Her Majesty." The Priestess answered causally, causing the King to back off a bit. "In fact, I believe that in this moment, her Shadows are listening to our every word. So, it'd be in your best interest to leave this matter to me, for she is also curious as to where Spear Hero Motoyasu may be."

Turning his head in defeat, the king let the Priestess go. Smiling her way out, she stopped before the door and spoke over her shoulder.

"You should check out Lute Village. He probably went back there, seeing as how that is the only place he knows at the moment." The Priestess then walked out and the doors shut behind her.

As she walked down the stairs, the Priestess bit her bottom lip all the way until she left the castle and entered the Church's sanctuary. Once there she began to laugh hysterically, at the faces that she saw in that moment. But it was cut short due to a swift wind blowing behind her.

"Haa, so what can I help you with?" The Priestess asked.

"Why did you send Princess Malty to Lute Village?" The shadow asked.

"Why? Why you ask?" The Priestess giggled before continuing. "Spear Hero Motoyasu will try to join the party of Shield Hero Iwatani. I also know that Seatto's daughter is with him, so I thought you'd want to ask her a few questions before finding Motoyasu."

"I see. You are as clever as you are cunning. It was a wise choice to choose you to carry this task, I daresay." The shadow said. "But, I daresay, what will you do for the remaining Cardinal Heroes?"

"Nothing." The Priestess answered quickly, actually stunning the Queen's shadow.

"N-nothing, you daresay?" The shadow answered trying to stay composed.

"That's right. Ever since Motoyasu's 'sudden disappearance' everyone in the castle has begun to distrust in the King and the First Princess. So, there is no need to do anything." The Priestess answered, while twirling and placing her hands together behind her back while smiling non-stop. "Let's just see who snaps first. Then the storm shall really begin."

_**At Lute Village, Noon…**_

Raphtalia and Naofumi were so engrossed by all the filolials growth that they completely ignored the situation outside.

"Let's just hope they don't grow any more than this." Naofumi pleaded as he began to scratch the back of his head."

"Yeah, otherwise that's going to be a lot of money out of our pocket." Raphtalia answered only to finally hear the commotion outside. "What's going on outside?"

"Hmm?" Naofumi responded.

As the two headed out, they noticed Alice and Éclair already standing in the crowd. Pushing their way through Naofumi asked.

"Hey, what the hell's going on?

"Oh, Naofumi." Alice answered. "Well…"

"It seems Princess Malty is here for the Spear Hero." Éclair answered.

"Motoyasu. Why would he be here?" Naofumi said as his face darkened.

"Don't know." Alice answered.

As the group began to look at the one person they never expected, just a few people down, Motoyasu was completely shaking in his boots. Not only was he not expecting Myne to be there, but now he had no way of escape since the guards that came with Myne were surrounding the exit.

"Sir Kitamura, are you alright?" Lenn asked worried at Motoyasu's sudden shaking.

"I'm alight. I was just scared at the fact that a royal is here at a village like this." Motoyasu said as calmly as he possibly could. "Now what to do?"

"Well, all things considered, we don't have to be here, but…" Levi was cut off by Myne's sudden outburst.

"Now tell me where Sir Motoyasu is or the whole village will be burnt to the ground!" Myne yelled as she waved her hand and the guards began readying their spears and swords.

"Now, please be reasonable." The village chief said as he got on his knees and begged. "The Spear Hero is not here. We have not seen him since the 2nd Wave."

As Myne began to raise her hand, the soldiers readied themselves. But before Naofumi or Motoyasu had the chance to move up, Myne's hand was already coming down. Thinking she had successfully taken care of a threat, she felt her wrist being crushed, looking at her arm, she noticed it still in the air, with someone she was not expecting.

"Alice!" Naofumi yelled as he saw Alice right next to Myne holding her arm up."

Gritting her teeth with such force, Alice began to crush Myne's wrist more and more. With each squeeze, Myne began to struggle, at least until several shadows showed up behind the two women.

"You're…!" Myne said through the pain.

"May I ask that you release her from you're grasp." One of the shadows asked.

"Fine." Alice answered as she released her grip from Myne's wrist.

Walking away, Alice felt something being slipped into her hand, but paid no attention to it. As she met up with Naofumi, the group began to walk away as they noticed Myne and the soldiers beginning to walk away as well.

"I thought that bitch was going to put up more of a fight, but that's weird." Alice spoke up.

"You're telling me." Raphtalia said. "I'm still trying to figure out how you were able to get past the soldiers, Alice."

"That's a little family secret." Alice answered while placing her right index finger over her mouth.

"Well whatever the case, she should begin to leave, don't want to stay in a place where…." Naofumi was cut off by the village chief.

"Excuse me, Sir Hero?" The village chief spoke up.

"Hmm?" The entire group answered.

"We just wanted to thank your party member. Because of her actions, we were able to avoid a huge conflict." The village chief answered.

"There's no need. She was just annoying me. So, since she wasn't anywhere near the castle, I thought it'd be good to relieve some of my anger." Alice answered, trying to finish the conversation quickly.

"Is that so, well we would still like to compensate for your efforts here from last time, if that is alright with you?" The chief asked.

Looking at Naofumi, Alice shrugged and Naofumi waved his hand, on to then hear a yelp coming from the group's left. Turning their attention, everyone saw a huge black filolial, far bigger than any filolial they have ever seen. Seeing this, Raphtalia runs back to the barn only to then call out to Naofumi.

"Master Naofumi! You have to come and see this!"

Naofumi, Alice and Éclair rushed towards Raphtalia as she called out to them, only to see in the barn something unexpected. As they entered the barn, the group was introduced to four large filolials. The filolial they were used to seeing were the normal everyday filolials, but these were something they were never expecting.

"Okay, first Motoyasu, then that bitch…now this?" Naofumi said.

"Hey, we're just as shocked as you are, Naofumi." Alice responded.

"But still, are these the same filolials we saw two days ago?" Éclair asked.

"Probably." Raphtalia answered Éclair's question.

After the whole incident, the group moved on and left Lute Village. With a cart in tow, with four filolials pulling it, the group couldn't be happier. As Naofumi's party left the village's sight, out of the shadows of the forest, the Priestess placed her hands together and wished for nothing but safety for Naofumi and his party. Then, looking in the direction of Lute Village, the Priestess kneeled slightly towards the ground and began drawing something within the dirt.

"All I ask is that you watch this village. I can't make the same mistake as I did last time with Rock Valley." After saying that a magical barrier was placed around the village.

Just as she was about to leave, the Priestess heard something calling to her, but noticed no one was in sight. Ignoring the voice, the Priestess set her sights back on Melromarc.


	13. Chapter 13

"Well, this is just… You know I don't have the words for it." Levi spoke to Motoyasu as he looked at Chloe who had seemingly turned much bigger than any other filolial.

"I contacted…someone I know. They told me that it may just be a filolial king or queen." Motoyasu responded.

"Apparently, these cases are so rare that filolials such as these can actually go up for 100 gold pieces." Lenn added only to get wacked in the back of her head. "Ow! That hurt."

"We're not selling Kitamura's filolial, is that understood?" Levi stated.

"Yes, papa." Lenn answered in defeat.

Rubbing his hand against Chloe's feathers, Motoyasu began to wonder why Chloe was growing differently than any other filolial.

_**Later that night…**_

As everyone began getting ready to turn in, Motoyasu spoke up.

"I'll take first watch, is that alright?"

"That's fine. Just be sure to wake me up if you can't stay up." Levi answered since Lenn had passed out on top of Chloe's warm, and soft feathers.

"You got it." Motoyasu responded.

As the night was still young, Motoyasu pulled out a bag that contained a lot of drops from his time at Lute Village. Grabbing each piece one at a time, he began adding them to his spear, unlocking other spears with different uses.

"So, the crystal from the cave over at Lute Village gave me a spear of valor. I wonder what that does?"

Just as Motoyasu was going to use his newly acquired spear, he felt a gust of wind blow his way, then a small voice.

"-mura. Please wake up, Master Kitamura." The voice asked.

"I'm up…I'm UP!" Motoyasu yelled scaring Lenn and Levi.

"Jeez, you scared us, Kitamura." Levi answered after finally realizing he needed to breath.

"Yeah, when we woke up you were already asleep." Lenn responded afterwards, then looked behind her to see a shaking, little girl with black angel wings. "And by the way, do you know who she is?"

As Motoaysu looked at the unfamiliar girl behind Lenn and at the same time looked for Chloe, he managed to put two and two together.

"Chloe?" Motoyasu said, only to see the demi-girl named Chloe proclaim it without hesitation.

"That's right!" Chloe said with a smile, while placing her hand on her hips.

What?" Levi and Lenn responded simultaneously.

_**A few hours before…**_

Throughout the night, Alice had continually woken up, unable to get even a minute of sleep. Surrendering to the night, Alice walked up to Éclair, who at this point was taking watch.

"Hey, I'll take watch, you get some rest." Alice said once she was in ear shot.

"You sure? It looked like you've hardly slept." Éclair stated as she began to notice bags under Alice's eyes.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it." Alice reassured her partner.

Thanking her before turning in, Éclair asked once again if Alice was alright. Giving her usual smile and nodding, gave all the response Éclair needed to feel satisfied. After a few minutes, Éclair was fast asleep. Seeing this, Alice reached for a book that sat in the carriage, given to them by the village chief back at Lute Village, and had begun to read when a gust of wind blew in her direction with such force that it began to flip the pages of the open book.

"What was…?" Alice asked out loud only to see four children, one with a pure pink wing, one with pure white wings, one with golden yellow, and the last one with baby blue, sleeping next to Naofumi. "What the heck is going on?"

After placing clothes on the naked children, Alice began to scratch her head in confusion. Not only did these children appear out of nowhere, but now their filolials were gone as well.

"Where did Sakura, Aqua, Kou and Filo go? Alice said while scratching her head not really waiting for a response.

"Sakura's right here, though." Someone answered Alice's question.

"Kou's here!" Another yelled.

"Filo, too." Answered another.

Hearing these three responses, Alice turned her attention to the kids, who were dressed in rags due to having nothing else to clothe in, stand behind her smiling. Shocked by the response, Alice stuttered:

"Did you guys just answer my question?"

"Yup." Three of the four children responded.

Shocked beyond words, Alice pointed and spoke.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait." Alice repeated several times, before finally managing to get all four children sitting down. "Okay so, your Sakura." Alice pointed to the pure pink haired girl who, had what looked to be a rose on the right side of her head, nodded in response. "Then, you must be Filo." Alice pointed to the golden hair, white winged girl, who also nodded. "Then you must be Kou and Aqua." Kou cheered so loudly that Aqua basically leaned to the right, eyes wide open from shock.

Still utterly shocked by this, Alice had no idea what to do. So, she just sat there. And sat until the sun rose over a new day.

As everyone began to wake up, Raphtalia was the first to noticed something was off. Especially, since Alice was sowing clothes together for 4 children dressed in rags. Getting up, Raphtalia asked.

"Alice, what are you doing?" Raphtalia asked as she noticed the clothes being made with such dexterity, and beauty. It was almost as if Alice was used to this sort of thing. "Um, Alice? Hello?"

"Shush." All the children said as they turned their attention away from Alice for a second, before turning back to see the pieces of cloth turn into clothes before their eyes.

"What's going on?" Naofumi asked as he walked around to see four children, each with their own unique colored wings, sitting in front of Alice staring at her in awe. "Who are these kids?"

"Don't know, Master Naofumi." Raphtalia answered. "When I woke up, I saw them sitting in front of Alice. And it seems Alice is completely focused on making these children some clothes."

"Done. Not my best work, since I didn't have any magic thread." Alice said once she produced four different attires for each of the filolials. "Now listen here, Filo, Sakura, Aqua and Kou, before you transform you have to take off your clothes, understood?"

"Yes, mama." They all said simultaneously scaring Raphtalia and Naofumi, who at this point were shocked by the revelation.

_**Back at Melromarc…**_

As Naofumi entered a shop he was very familiar with, Kou and Filo practically rushed in to take in the new sight he had never seen. After Kou, followed Sakura, who was pulling on Alice's hand to rush forward. Then Aqua, who stayed calm and more mature than her other siblings, by staying at Éclair's side. Seeing his shop with such an exciting atmosphere, Erhard smiled upon seeing the kids cheerfully looking around his shop.

"I'm guessing you didn't just bring them here to show off, right kid?" Erhard asked.

"No, not even." Naofumi responded. "I came here looking to see if you had any clothes."

"Why though? Their wearing them." Erhard answered, only to see Alice remove the quickly sown clothes off of Kou, who then transformed into his Filolial form, scaring Erhard. "What the…?"

"Yup, but the thing is when they transform, they tear their clothes, so we need clothes that don't tear." Naofumi stated.

"Sorry kid. Can't help you there." Erhard managed to squeeze out. "That type of stuff is custom ordered, but I can't do that here. Try the tailor shop just down the street. The lady there might be able to help."

Thanking Erhard for the info, Naofumi and the gang began their journey towards the tailor shop when Naofumi remembered something.

"Hey, Alice."

"Hmm? What up, Naofumi?" Alice responded.

"Didn't you say something about 'magic thread'?" Naofumi asked.

"Oh, yeah that right." Alice answered Naofumi's question. "For transforming species like the little one over here, they need thread that was created from their own mana in order to create clothes that will transform with them."

"So, it's that important, huh?" Naofumi said to himself, as he began changing direction.

"Um, excuse me Master Iwatani?" Éclair finally spoke up. "Isn't the tailor shop in the opposite direction?"

"Yeah, it is. But if what Alice said was true, then we need to get the thread first before we can do anything." Naofumi responded as he opened the door to the magic shop.

_**A few minutes later…**_

"Is that so?" Naofumi questioned. "Is the crystal expensive?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem." The lady of the magic shop said as she pushed her gigantic purple witch hat back to look at Naofumi in the eyes. "The problem is that the crystal are very scarce. I'll see what I can do to procure on as soon as possible. So, you think you could wait just a bit longer?"

Realizing that they were stuck in a predicament, Naofumi decided to go see if he can do something about the gem problem.

_**An hour later…**_

Practically making a fool of himself, Motoyasu was sneaking around the city of Melromarc, hoping not to get noticed by anyone he might recognize.

"So, Sir Kitamura. Why are you sneaking around?" Lenn couldn't help but ask, after seeing Motoyasu's awkward sneaking.

"Shush. Don't you remember when I told you, I sort of snuck out of Melromarc?" Motoyasu answered in a low whisper hoping no one will hear.

"I don't remember that." Lenn answered, only to see two people she knew all too well as of this point come back. "Papa, Chloe! Over here!"

"No, don't yell." Motoyasu yelled whispered to Lenn, before ducking out of sight.

"Kitamura, bad news." Levi said as he approached the now hiding Motoyasu. "It seems that we won't be able to get new clothes any time soon."

"What do you mean?" Motoyasu asked when he was being dragged out by Chloe from his hiding space.

"It seems the crystal that is necessary for creating the mana thread, is no more." Levi answered only to see a confused look appear on Motoyasu's face before continuing. "What I mean is that the Witch's crystal broke, so we won't be able to create any thread."

"Okay, is there any good news?" Motoyasu said in a grunt as he lifted up Chloe onto his shoulders.

"Well, there is, but…" Levi paused mid-sentence.

"But…what?" Motoyasu asked again.

"But it seems like it will take a while for the crystal to get here." Levi answered. "But apparently, the Shield Hero was also looking for the same type of crystal, so there's that."

"Wait, did you say the Shield Hero?" Motoyasu repeated what Levi just said.

"Yeah, I did. Was that wrong?" Levi responded with concern.

"No, no. Not at all." Motoyasu said only to see a spear unlock in his menu at the same time. "What's this? _Spear of Remembrance._"

"What you say?" Levi asked now being curious to what Motoyasu was looking at.

"Oh, nothing at all." Was all Motoyasu replied.


	14. Chapter 14

A foggy surrounding. That's all Alice was able to see. Even when she walked for what seemed like miles, the fog never ceased to end. Then hearing screams in the distance, she turned around only to hear the screams coming from behind her. As she continued to turn around, the screams kept coming from the opposite direction. Not being able to take it, Alice covered her ears.

.

"Stop. Just stop. Please…just…STOP!" Alice said as she fell to her knees while still covering her ears.

"Can't take it, can you?" Somebody said.

.

Looking up, she noticed herself, with dark black hair, and blood-shot red eyes. Her face, unlike her own, was scarred and bloodied, showing the hell she's been in.

.

"If you break down from this, then you're completely useless." Alice's alter ego said as she crossed her arms and began to lean on her right side slightly to prove her dominance.

"Shut up. I was just a normal girl until a few month ago. What do you expect me to do?!" Alice yelled as she looked at her alter ego in the eye.

"Stand up. That's all there is to it." Is all she said. "If you fall then get back up. If you lose an arm, then stop the bleeding and get back up. If you lose a leg, figure out a way to get back up. So, quit your complaining and get up, dumbass!"

.

_**On a stretch of road leading to a nearby town…**_

.

As Alice opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was her hair. The black that was only on the tips and ends of her hair, had stretched out and began to envelop the entire top of her head leaving only a good 4 inches of pure red close to the bottom. Holding her head in pain, Raphtalia and Éclair looked back at her with concern.

.

"Alice, are you okay? You keep getting worse every day." Raphtalia asked with concern in her voice.

"My thoughts exactly. And may I add that every time your condition worsens your hair color changes." Éclair stated as she pointed towards Alice's hair.

.

After hearing the women's thought, Alice places her hand near the right side of her head, only to pull up a few stands of hair and then letting them slide back.

.

"It's fine. Really, just the consequences of learning a magic beyond my means." Alice answered giving her usual smile.

"Still though, who knew you had an affinity similar to Master Iwatani?" Éclair said as she looked up towards the sky.

"Yeah, even I was surprised by that." Rapthalia responded afterwards. "But even with that, she has an affinity with fire, wind, and water. How long have you been practicing magic for, Alice?"

"For as long as I can remember." Was all Alice responded.

"I remember someone back at my village, who had similar affinity usage just like yours, Alice." Raphtalia said with joy in her tone.

"Oh, is that so? So, who was this person?" Alice asked.

"She was the only human in my village. Even when she was the only human there, she was accepted pretty easily, and fit right in. She was like the big sister I've never had." Recalling happy memories from the past, caused Raphtalia to smile more gleefully.

"Oh, and where is she now?" Alice answered already knowing the answer to her own question.

"Don't know. After the 1st Wave, she just disappeared. I never got to see her again." Raphtalia answered.

"Oh, is that so. Sorry I asked such a sensitive question." Alice said apologetically.

"It's fine. Really."

.

Their conversation was cut short due to the sound of stomping rushing towards them.

.

"It appears that Master Iwatani and Filo are returning." Éclair answered.

.

After saying that, Filo had begun to slow down before coming to a complete stop in front of the carriage. As that happened, Sakura and Kou jumped out to meet the two of them. From within the excitement, Aqua got up calmly watched from afar.

"You're not going to meet them outside, Aqua?" Alice asked.

"I'm not that immature." Aqua answered.

"There's no need for you to act mature." Alice answered as she placed her hand on Aqua's head. "Afterall, you're still a child."

"Please stop treating me as one." Aqua said as she removed Alice's hand from her head.

"Okay."

.

Curious by Aqua's sudden attitude change, Alice was about to ask, only to be interrupted by Filo's sudden attack from behind.

.

"Ah! Filo, don't do that." Alice said trying to keep herself steady.

"Mama, please teach me more wind magic." Filo said in a rush.

"Me, too." Kou said as he jumped in the air with excitement.

"I wouldn't mind learning a few more magic spells and techniques." Sakura said with joy in her voice.

"Come one guys. Give me a break." Alice pleaded.

_**At the same time…**_

.

Motoyasu opened his eyes to see the same grey, foggy background, just like Alice. The only difference was that, he saw himself fighting some unknown object. The closer he tried to get to his other self, the farther it seemed to have gotten. Then his surrounding were filled with the screams and cursing of individuals he couldn't see. As he began to look around in a panic, he came face to face with what looked to be himself, but with white-blondish type hair, and crimson red eyes. Without any warning, this other Motoyasu stabbed Motoyasu straight in the chest. After doing so, the other spoke up.

.

"It was your job to come back in time. Why leave it to a girl who couldn't even defend herself? Answer me. ANSWER ME!" The alter Motoyasu yelled at his current self.

.

Waking up with such ferocity, practically scared Lenn out of her skin.

.

"Sir Kitamura, is everything alright?" Lenn asked after catching her breath.

"I'm fine." Motoyasu said as he placed his hand where he was stabbed only to feel nothing out of the ordinary. "I'm fine, really. Just a nightmare."

"Oh, okay." Lenn said with a smile, which calmed Motoyasu's pulsing heart.

.

Finally, being able to calm down, Motoyasu opened his menu to check if anything was different with the spears he had. The spear that caught his attention was known as: The Watch of Ryukoku. Interested by the name itself, Motoyasu was just about to summon it, when the cart came to a sudden halt.

.

"Whoa! What was that?" Motoyasu asked as he walked up to the front of the carriage.

"Well, the thing is…" Levi was interrupted by Chloe.

"There are a bunch of birds. Are they edible, Master Kitamura?" Chloe asked as she looked at the herd of filolial, ready to strike at any given moment.

"Wait." Motoyasu said as he jumped out of the carriage, and in front of Chloe.

.

Then almost as if responding to Motoyasu's advances, one of the filolials walked up and stared. Seeing this, Chloe transformed into her human form and walked up to it.

.

"Their asking us to follow them." Chloe then responded after a few seconds of silence.

"Follow them?" Levi responded afterwards before looking directly at Motoyasu. "What do you think, Kitamura?"

"Well, if they're not a threat, then I guess we should. Who knows, they may even lead us to where we can get our hands on a crystal for making that magical thread, or whatever it was called." Motoyasu responded by telling Chloe to continue pulling the cart and to follow the herd of filolials.

.

Following the herd, Chloe continued to pull the carriage. After a few minutes, fog began to set it, catching everyone's attention.

.

"Where did this fog come from?" Motoyasu asked.

"Don't know." Lenn answered, only to hold her shoulders and shiver. "But this fog is beginning to creep me out."

"Well, if your ever scared, just stay near Kitamura. Afterall, he's great with that-" Levi's sentence was cut short, due to Chloe's abrupt stop. "Chloe, what was that for?"

"Sorry, but they told me to stop." After saying this, Chloe transformed into her human form.

.

Jumping out of the cart, Motoyasu walked up to Chloe and stood by her. Holding on to her master, Chloe began to look around until her eyes laid upon a carriage that was not there before. Following her gaze, Motoyasu also noticed the carriage. In that instant, something in the back of his mind began to turn. As the figure walked elegantly out of the carriage, Motoyasu's feet just began to run without him realizing it. Then in matter of moments, Motoyasu's world became pitch black.

.

"Hey! What's going on?" Motoyasu asked.

"You don't remember Kitmaura?" Lenn said as she exhaled in disbelief while placing her right hand on her forehead. "You just ran full steam ahead towards Fitoria. Can I ask how you knew her name, before any of us did?"

"I did?" Motoyasu asked almost as if he wasn't aware of what he did. "And secondly, don't know."

"We're so sorry about that. We really didn't know he was going to do that." Levi answered trying his best to calm the now frightened Fitoria. "Is there any way you could forgive us?"

.

After collecting herself, Fitoria took a few more breaths before speaking.

.

"I'd like to know where the Cardinal Hero is." Was all Fitoria said.

"The Cardinal Hero?" Levi asked with confusion. "We haven't met one. And I don't think there is a Cardinal Hero here."

"That's impossible. I felt a Cardinal Heroes presence here. So, they must be nearby." Fitoria answered as she began to look around.

.

Now shaking in his boots, thinking his identity might have to be revealed, a hero came to his rescue.

.

"How would you know if there was a Cardinal Hero here?" Lenn answered.

"It's simple." Fitoria answered. "The Cardinal Weapon of the Hero. It gives off a different type of magic then what you release. Thus, I followed that magical presence…"

.

Fitoria stopped midsentence and turned her attention back at Motoyasu and the wrapped spear on his back. Walking up to him, Motoyasu felt a different presence coming closer to him. Feeling that presence again made a memory come back to him. Something that felt very dear to him. A gigantic filolial, bleeding massively, as it laid on its stomach, looked straight ahead and asked for one thing: "_Please, protect the world._" Was all this creature asked him as she transformed into her human form and place her hand on Motoyasu's cheek.

Feeling that same touch on his cheek caused a tear to come strolling down his face. Seeing this, Fitoria knew exactly what had happened to the missing Cardinal Hero.

.

"I found you, Cardinal Hero." Fitoria responded with a sweet tone that caused everyone to look at Motoyasu.

"Well so much for hiding my identity." Motoyasu admitted, only to feel the blindfold be removed from his face.

.

After taking a few minutes to explain to everyone what was happening, Levi just stood there with his eyes closed, while Lenn just stood there staring in awe. After another few seconds of silence, Levi spoke up.

.

"So, why didn't say anything again?" Levi asked.

"I was trying to hide." Motoyasu answered as he began massaging his wrist after the ropes were removed. "I thought if I hid my identity, I could hide better, but it seems like the queen of the filolials has better detective skills than I could have ever anticipated."

"So, I take it you are the Spear Hero?" Fitoria interjected between the conversation.

"That's right." Motoyasu responded.

"Last I heard, all the Heroes were not working with each other, but instead working to advance one another?" Fitoria asked.

"Yup. Because since we all came from different worlds, we wanted to see who the best was, and that sort of split us apart." Motoyasu answered Fitoria's question before continuing. "And if you're going to ask what the other heroes are up to, then I wouldn't know. Truth be told, I could only really answer for Naofumi."

"Naofumi?" Fitoria was now curious by the mentioned name. "Can I presume that this 'Naofumi' is the Shield Hero?"

"You're right on the mark." Motoyasu answered to confirm Fitoria's suspicions.

"Please, explain in detail." Fitoria answered.

.

After answering Fitoria's questions, Fitoria turned her attention towards Chloe and challenged her. After a few minutes, the clear victor was Fitoria, with Chloe dizzy from all the tossing and blasting Fitoria gave her. After their small battle, Chloe was given the mark of acceptance, a cowlick, and explained why Chloe was growing differently than any other filolial. After saying what she wanted to, Fitoria left, just as she arrived. Without making a sound, she disappeared with the carriage that brought her to Motoyasu, and the fog dispersed, along with the filolials.

.

_**Back in Melromarc…**_

.

Kneeling on her knees while holding onto a staff that represented the Three Heroes: the spear, the sword, and the bow, in the form of a cross, the Priestess opened her unveiled eyes as she rose. Then, keeping her head down, she walked out of the main hall of the church back to her own room. As she closed the door, she dropped the staff not even worrying about the racket it made when it fell. Gritting her teeth with such force, it looked like her teeth would break from the pressure itself. Hearing a knock, the Priestess reached for her veil and placed it back on her eyes before answering.

"Yes, what is it?" The Priestess answered.

"Someone wishes to speak with you, I daresay." A woman answered.

"Enter." Was all the Priestess answered, as the woman entered with Itsuki, the Bow Hero.

"Well, then if you'll excuse me." As the woman said this, she made quick eye contact with the Priestess before leaving.

Turning fully to face Itsuki, The Priestess began to look with disgust at the fact that someone so young believed he was the strongest. But calming her one-sided emotion, she spoke.

"To what can I assist you with, Sir Hero?" The Priestess asked as Itsuki came closer.

"I'd like to ask about Motoyasu…" Itsuki was cut off midsentence by the Priestess.

"Get out." Was all she said which took Itsuki aback.

"What did you say?" Itsuki asked genuinely confused.

"I said…Get out." The Priestess said with more malice in her voice. "If you're not here to talk about something useful, then leave!" As she yelled, the Priestess pointed at the door.

"Maybe you don't understand, but I'm a Cardinal Hero. And while you may be a high priestess in a church, that's nothing compared to me, a Hero." Itsuki answered sounding arrogant and confident that it made the Priestess laugh uncontrollably.

"You, a hero?" The Priestess continued to laugh, as Itsuki yelled back at her.

"You better stop or I'll…" Once again, Itsuki was cut off.

"Or what, you'll shoot me? Go to you're precious King and tell him you were rudely insulted and mistreated, hoping he'd actually take care of you?" The Priestess said as she began to calm down. "Yeah, right. That old man won't do anything, unless it involved that daughter of his."

"What…what do you know?!" Itsuki began to yell, causing the Priestess to break into a smile. "He'll listen to me, because I'm the strongest hero."

"You're the strongest, huh? If that was true, then the 1st Wave would've only lasted a few minutes, not hours." The Priestess answered, bringing Itsuki back to reality. "You're nothing more than a nuisance." Then realizing a solution to end this conversation quicker, the Priestess continued. "Alright, if you say you're the strongest, then shoot me."

.

Shocked at hearing this, Itsuki noticed the Priestess extended her arms outwards.

.

"See, I'm an enemy from a neighboring country, here to kill the king. Since you like playing hero, kill me right her and now to save the king. Then when you have successfully killed me, take my head and show it to the weak king with the letter in between my breast a proof that I was indeed an enemy." The Priestess said as a smile had completely formed on her face with her arms still extended outwards. "Oh, what's this? Too weak to kill a defenseless woman. I guess you're not a strong as you say you are."

"I am strong. I'm the strongest hero there is." Itsuki said as he felt his bow no longer on his back.

.

Panicking as to where his bow was, he noticed the Priestess no longer in front of him, but instead behind him. Wondering what just happened, Itsuki asked.

.

"When did you…" Itsuki cut himself off, to see that the Priestess was holding his bow. "Give that back." He said with an authoritative voice, only to get a laugh from the Priestess.

"You really are pathetic." The Priestess said while laughing. "Without this, you're just a normal person." As the Priestess finished her sentence, with her left hand, that held Itsuki's bow, she placed on her him, while holding her head with her right. "Out of everyone to be summoned from your world, it had to be the most arrogant, self-centered boy. My head, can't take this."

.

As the Priestess continued to act, Itsuki tried to close in to take is bow. As he jumped at that moment, in his eyes, he had successfully taken back what was his, only to see he was completely wrong and fell face first into the floor. Lifting himself back up, he noticed the Priestess standing where she was, just moments before. Angered by this, Itsuki lost his cool.

.

"That's it. I demand that you give it back and grovel on your knees. If you do that, as well as calling me Master Itsuki, then I'll forgive you." Itsuki yelled as the Priestess broke out in laughter yet again. "Stop laughing, this instant."

"You see what I mean." The Priestess said after tossing Itsuki's bow back at him. "You're nothing but a whining little brat. You don't deserve everything you have."

"Take that back." Itsuki said as he pulled out an arrow and drew it back and pointed it at the Priestess. "_A warning shot should scare that brave face of hers._" Itsuki said to himself as he shot the arrow, completely missing the Priestess, who was unfazed by it.

"Wow. You actually had the guts to shoot at me." The Priestess said while smiling and approaching Itsuki. "If you really intended to shoot me, then you should've done. But it seems that the only thing, this brat wants is to be praised for something he should be doing for the sake of others." As the Priestess turned around, she began to walk away from Itsuki. "If there's nothing else, then leave my sight, Sir Hero."

.

As he noticed the Priestess leaving, Itsuki noticed how the real-world works. No matter where he was, they will always treat him the same way, as everyone else, just another being in the cycle known as life. Itsuki thought that with him being a hero, people will jump into his arms and treat him with their upmost respect. Now seeing a bit of the truth, made Itsuki angry. While seeing Itsuki curse himself, the Priestess watched from down the halls. Knowing she may have went overboard, she apologized in her heart to Itsuki before walking into the shadows before disappearing from sight.


	15. Chapter 15

**_In the sewer's underneath Melromarc…_**

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* * *

Hearing the swishing and swaying of the water underneath her feet, the Priestess walked through the dark and damp sewer tunnels. Walking like she had done this thousands of times before, the Priestess avoided certain paths and continued to walk forward until she saw light up ahead. As she walked out of the sewer, she noticed the green plains in front of her. Breathing the fresh air, the scenery had to offer her, she walked off into the distance. Picking herbs, feeding small critters she knew meant no harm, and sitting in the sun's warm rays. At one point, the Priestess laid down in the trees shade, when she began to feel a peck on her chest. Lifting the cloth from her face, she noticed a baby filolial pecking down on her chest. Smiling at the sight, she extended her hand and grabbed a piece of bread, before handing it to the infant bird. Seeing the bread, the filolial grabbed it and began to chew like it was about to disappear at a moments notice. After it finished, the filolial jumped off the Priestess chest, and laid on her legs, falling into a deep slumber. Slowly extending her hand, the filolial did not budge one bit and allowed the Priestess to begin ruffling its feathers.

.

"Honestly, if only the world were as peaceful as you guys are." The Priestess finally spoke, as she continued to slide her hand across the infant filolial's smooth, delicate body. "Imagine how the world would be if we never had to fight each other."

"I don't think that would be possible." A male's voice answered her statement, causing the filolial to jump and rush off into the bushes.

.

As the Priestess turned around to see who it was, the cloth that covered her eyes unloosened and fell to the ground, revealing her aqua blue eyes with a hind of a light yellowish-brown apricot. Seeing her eyes and who she truly was, the man only stared at the woman in front of him.

"Aren't you…" The man said, still shocked at who he saw.

"Sir Amaki." The Priestess answered, as she began to look around slightly to see if there was anyone who followed the young hero.

"What are you doing out here? Normally no one from the church ever comes out." Ren answered.

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Seeing herself caught in between a rock and a hard place, the Priestess acted quickly and shone light magic on the young hero's eyes before running with all her might. But even with that, Ren managed to catch up with her and stop her by grabbing onto her arm.

.

"Normally, when people act like that, they are usually hiding something." Ren said as he pulled the Priestess close to him, so as to not let her escape. "Honestly, I'm a really open-minded man, so start talking. Why are you trying to separate us heroes from each other?"

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**_Just outside some caves near a temple…_**

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* * *

Completely exhausted, Motoyasu, Levi, Lenn and Chloe had defeated a horde of monsters, only for more to appear just after.

.

"Usually spawns don't appear this quickly!" Motoyasu yelled.

"I can't agree with you more, Kitamura. But we have to hang in there. The crystals we need are in those caves." Levi answered before coming up with a plan. "Lenn, you quick and can do illusion magic, right?"

"Yeah, what of it? I thought you knew that though!" Lenn grunted as she stabbed her dagger in a boar looking monster with blue fur, and tusks that twisted. "Oh, I see!"

"What's the plan?!" Motoyasu said asked as he called upon another on of his earned spears.

"We'll have Lenn go in and grab the crystals." Levi stated before punching another monster, cleanly cutting off its head with the gauntlets he had on.

"That's a great plan!" Motoyasu exclaimed. "Quick out of the way, I'll make an opening for you."

.

Moving out of the way, Motoyasu's spear began to glow and a few seconds later, Motoyasu yelled: "Meteor Strike!" This caused the monsters in the path of the Motoyasu's spear to fly upwards and fall towards the ground. Seeing this opening, Lenn ran through and cloaked herself in invisibility, and disappeared from sight.

.

**_After another several minutes…_**

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* * *

Completely winded and exhausted, Levi and Chloe fell to the ground, while Motoyasu tried his best to stay standing. Struggling to the monster, Motoyasu grabbed anything he can and added it to his spear. He had made it a habit to pick up what he had killed. And this new habit was actually beneficial for him, as it helped him suppress some of the new memories that came with the new spear "_The Watch of Ryukoku._" After collecting what he needed he noticed how on-edge Chloe looked.

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"Chloe, what's wrong?" Motoyasu asked.

"Isn't Big sis Lenn taking too long?" Chloe answered with a look of concern.

.

Now that the two male adults thought about it, it had been a while since they had heard from the little racoon demi. Before coming to the same conclusion, the two set off leaving the young filolial all by herself.

.

**_Inside the cave…_**

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* * *

Grabbing a torch, Levi began leading the way, seeing nothing of the ordinary. As they continued, they began walking down, what looked to be an abandoned mining tunnel. Then after a minute of walking, Motoyasu began hearing a voice.

.

"_Damn, just because he's a hero, he thinks he can do whatever he wants. What a nuisance_" After hearing Levi's voice speak, Motoyasu turned towards Levi only to see him turn towards him.

"You heard that, right?" Levi asked.

"You didn't say that?" Motoyasu asked.

"Said what?" Levi paused for a moment, then began to realize what was happening. "We have to run back, now!"

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As the two ran back towards where they came, they stopped just before the cave's entrance. Seeing Motoyasu distracted by something, Levi spoke up.

.

"What is it?" Levi said as he noticed a small figure, crouched behind a large chest that sat on an altar. "Lenn?"

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Hearing her name being said, Lenn reacted like a child who was lost, only to be found.

.

"Ahh! The creature was so scary!" Lenn said in a hurry as she was within her father's arms.

"What type of creature was it?" Levi said as he tried to calm down the young, frightened raccoon.

"A nue." Lenn said, her voice still quivering from fear.

.

But just as the duo was about to ask Lenn more questions, Chloe came running in.

.

"Kitamura! Some guy with a shield is here looking for the same crystal as us." Chloe stated as she saw Motoyasu.

"Some guy with a shield?" Motoyasu repeated before realizing who it might have been. "Oh, crap!"

"Huh?" Both Lenn and Levi answered at the same time.

.

**_Several Minutes Later…_**

.

* * *

Naofumi and Motoyasu sat at opposite sides of each other to try and keep some distance from each other. While munching on their food, their party members began to introduce themselves.

.

"Well, while those two figure out what do to, I guess I'll start. My name is Levi, and this demi-racoon is Lenn." Levi introduced himself and Lenn.

"I'm Chloe!" Chloe introduced herself with pride as she pounded her non-existent chest.

"Right, and I'm Alice. Starting from my right, this is Raphtalia, Éclair, Filo, Sakura, Kou, and Aqua." As Alice introduced her party, they each bowed as their names were said.

"So, I'm guessing these four children are also filolials?" Levi said as she knelt to look at them at eye level.

"That's right." Raphtalia answered, only to then be spooked by Motoyasu's sudden outbust.

"I'M SORRY!" Motoyasu yelled to the top of his lungs, frightening everyone.

.

As everyone looked at the sight, they noticed Motoyasu prostrating himself apologetically towards Naofumi, who was also a bit shocked at Motoyasu's sudden apology. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Naofumi was at a loss for words. Then after a few minutes of silence Motoyasu spoke up.

.

"I know my apology may seem shallow, and you can think whatever you want. But I just want to tell you that Myne confessed to me about betraying you." Motoyasu spoke which caught Naofumi's attention.

"What do you mean confess? She's nothing but a good-for-nothing liar." Naofumi said, his voice full of malice.

"Well, she didn't really confess to me straight to my face, she confessed to the High Priestess of the Church in Melromarc." Motoyasu answered.

"And how did she get her to confess?" Naofumi asked, his voice still full of malice.

"By hiding me in a passage she uses to get out of the church unseen." Motoyasu answered.

"And do you really think I'd believe any word that comes out of your mouth-" But Naofumi was cut off by Levi.

"Sir Shield Hero, please believe Kitamura's words. What would he gain to lie now, especially in this situation." Levi's words struck a chord in Naofumi as he looked at his surroundings. Realizing it, Naofumi turned his attention towards Motoyasu's new party members. "And just note, he did not pay just to stick with him. In fact, he tried his best to hide his identity for the majority of the time we were with him."

.

Now hearing this new information from someone who never hid anything in his life, Naofumi looked at Motoyasu again in a new light. While he had his head down, Motoyasu did not know what was happening above him, only saw Naofumi's shadow standing above him.

.

"I can't forgive you…" Naofumi spoke up after a minute of silence, but then continued. "But I now believe in second chances, thanks to a certain party member of mines." Naofumi turns to face Alice, then back to Motoyasu. "So, what do you think?"

.

As Motoyasu looked up, he noticed Naofumi's hand extended outwards for Motoyasu to grab. Without thinking for a second, Motoyasu grabbed Naofumi's hand and rose to his feet. Firmly grabbing Naofumi's hand, Motoyasu began shaking it.

.

"I won't ever make the same mistake as I did before. I'll strive to do better." Motoyasu answered, before turning his head towards the entrance of the cave. "And my proof is in that cave."

.

**_Several minutes after…_**

.

* * *

Picking up the carcasses some bat-like creatures with bells attached to them, Naofumi and Motoyasu added those bats to their weapons, to see a new set unlock: "**Voice Gengar.**" Looking at each other, both Naofumi and Motoyasu just shrugged. After a minutes or so of walking, the groups consisting of: Naofumi, Motoyasu, Levi, Alice, Éclair and the witch from the store in Melromarc, reached the end of the tunnel to see the crystals.

.

"Well, there are the crystals." Naofumi spoke.

"Yeah, but…" Alice pointed to see a nue.

"That's what Lenn ran away from Kitamura." Levi responded as he looked towards Motoyasu.

"Really? For a second I thought it was a chimera." Motoyasu responded.

"Either way, we won't be able to get the crystal with it there. Let's proceed with caution." Éclair spoke up.

.

Then as the group began to walk forward, the nue reacted to the sound of their footsteps and began its assault. Reacting just in time, Alice moved out of the way before its claws dug into her.

.

"Alice! Are you alright?" Naofumi asked as he noticed the nue's attention stuck on Alice.

"I'm fine. But it looks like I'm what it wants. Think of something, quickly!" Alice yelled as she summersaulting backwards to stay out of the way.

"I'll assist her, for the time being." Then Éclair turned her attention towards Motoyasu. "Sir Kitamura, please assist the Sir Iwatani in figuring out how to defeat that monster."

"Right." Motoyasu answered as Éclair pulled out her blade and rushed into battle.

.

As Éclair began her attack from the monster's back, the nue reacted once again and turned its attention towards Éclair. Surprised by its reaction, Éclair tried not to falter, and jabbed at the monster, grabbing a few shallow cuts, but nothing more. The nue's tail then tried to bite onto Éclair, only for it to be interrupted by Naofumi's Air Strike Shield. This gave Éclair enough time back out and for Motoyasu to rush in. As he rushed it, Motoyasu tried to strike with his own Air Strike only to see electricity burst off of the nue.

.

"Everyone, get back!" Motoyasu yelled as he changed spears. "Lighting…SPEAR!" Motoyasu yelled as he sent a lightning strike to try and cancel, or redirect the lightning traveling towards the small party of 6. "Damn, how can it react so fast."

"That's because it's sensitive to sound." Alice said as she jumped behind Motoyasu.

"Wait did you say sound?" Motoyasu responded as he looked through his spears skills and noticed the spear called: "**_Voice Gengar_**", called it forth to see a spear that looked a bit like a pitchfork. "Then let's try this."

.

As Motoyasu ran forth, the nue turned its attention towards Motoyasu and ran forth as well. Bringing down the spear, Motoyasu noticed how light his spear was. And not only was it light, it was also hollow, which caught Motoyasu off guard for a bit. Seeing this, Naofumi turned to Alice.

.

"Alice, what did you tell him?" Naofumi asked.

"I just told him that the nue is sensitive to sound." Alice replied.

"Sound?" Now realizing what Motoyasu was up to, Naofumi also called up his new shield and called to Motoyasu. "Motoyasu! Come over here."

"Huh?" Motoyasu turned his head to Naofumi completely distracted.

"Idiot! Watch out!" Naofumi yelled.

.

Bringing his attention back to the battle, Motoyasu noticed how his spear had slightly touched the nue, but the nue began to scream in pain as it retreated. Seeing the opportunity, Motoyasu jumped back to Naofumi.

.

"What was that?" Naofumi asked.

"Don't know. But I have a plan." Motoyasu replied.

.

Hearing Motoyasu's plan, Naofumi yelled out.

.

"Everyone cover your ears as hard as you possibly can. You ready?" Naofumi said as he turned to Motoyasu.

"Yeah!" Motoyasu replied.

.

As the two Cardinal Heroes stood side-by-side for the first time, Motoyasu twirled his new spear around to try to grab enough momentum. Then as he began to feel his hollow spear vibrate, Motoyasu rushed up and struck Naofumi's shield like it was a bell being rung. As the two weapons came into contact, the vibrations coming from Motoyasu's spear began to amplify massively due to Naofumi's shield. As the vibration became louder and louder, Naofumi felt his whole body begin to vibrate. As he looked around, he noticed Alice, Éclair, Levi and the witch holding their ears tightly, while trying to stand from the vibrations. Then he noticed something falling from the roof of the cave. As Naofumi looked up, he noticed a large crystal coming straight down toward the nue. Then in a matter of seconds, the large crystal pierced the nue through its head killing it instantly. Seeing this, Motoyasu removed his spear to stop the vibrating. Then after a few seconds, the sonic wave attack ended.

.

"IS EVERONE ALRIGHT?!" Naofumi yelled over the ringing in his ear.

"YEAH, I THINK!" Motoyasu answered since he was closest to Naofumi. "IS IT NORMAL FOR YOUR HEART TO SKIP BEATS?!"

"LET'S WAIT A FEW BEFORE DOING ANYTHING!" Naofumi answered Motoyasu.

.

As the group sat down, trying to get used to the ringing in their ears, Alice sluggishly walked up towards the dead nue and grabbed four pieces and handed half to Naofumi and the other half Motoyasu. Then she tried to walk back, only to trip on her own feet and fall from exhaustion. Just as Alice thought she'd hit the ground, she noticed someone's arm wrapped around her stomach. But as she looked back another memory resurfaced. A memory that felt dear to her, something that can never be replaced.

.

_A man, sitting next to Alice. Allowing her to sleep on his shoulders, she felt the warmth of his body. And his fingers running through her hair. The ocean breeze cooling them just enough, so they don't overheat. Then after a few seconds of silence, she heard him speak._

.

"I honestly wish days like these could last. But sadly, this may be my last mission…" then the voice faded.

.

Returning from what seemed like hours of memories, turned out to be only a few seconds. Still seeing Motoyasu's arm around her waist, Alice got up and moved herself away from Motoyasu and just walked away.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Outside Melromarc…**_

* * *

.

Walking alongside a stream, as the moon shone just above, the Priestess continued to walk as she took in the night scenery. Behind her, Ren was still weary of her actions and had his sword out ready and waiting for her next attack.

.

"Could you please quit it with the menacing aura?" The Priestess asked as she looked back, only to then turn her away from Ren's in that same moment.

"What? Why do you keep on doing that?" Ren asked only to then see the Priestess' body stiffen up. "Is there something about your face you don't like?"

.

Exhaling after a good minute, the Priestess looked up at the moon, then began to speak.

.

"You should know better than anyone here on how it feels to be ripped away from your own home." The Priestess spoked without looking at Ren. "That's exactly what happened to me. Since Melromarc has a ton of military influence, they threatened my village to give me up. But since I came from a poor household, their faces where filled with disgust at the sight of me."

"But why did they rip you away from your home?" Ren asked now curious as to why someone like her is always equal when others aren't.

"Because of my magic." The Priestess answered. "I have the purest of holy magic, and I've always used it to help the people of my village. But I guess someone in my village bragged about it, and their words spread like wildfire, so here I am."

I'm guessing that's where the cloth came in. Since they didn't want to see the face of a peasant, they thought by covering your eyes, they'd be fine." Ren answered thinking he got the gist of the situation.

"No, I'm the one who placed the cloth." The Priestess answered as she bent down and placed her hand in the water. "I placed it on to keep myself from seeing the lies of the world. Eventually, it became a symbol that I've become accustomed to. And I prefer looking at people through their mana, and not face to face."

"And that's why you panic when you look a people directly in the eyes." Ren spoke after hearing the Priestess' explanation. "Then back to my main question: Why are you trying to separate us heroes?"

"You think yourself as heroes?" The Priestess barked back. "Your nothing more than children who grabbed a weapon and claimed to be heroes."

"What?" Ren asked only to be interrupted by the Priestess.

"You went to the Southeast to fight a vicious dragon, correct?" The Priestess asked and got a nod from Ren. "Tell me did you get rid of the body, or did you just leave it there?"

"This world is a game. It'll disappear in due time." As Ren said that, he received a harsh slap to his right cheek. "What are you…" Then a paper was placed in front of his face. "Wait, this is…"

"A quest, asking for assistance from a village in the Southeast. The place where you killed that dragon." The Priestess answered. "This world isn't a 'game'. This is real! The Priestess yelled. "I don't know your world, so it's the same for you. You don't know ours. Don't go thinking you do."

"I know how the mechanics work. I know how to gain extra weapons, make potions, gain EXP. I know all of it." Ren said with confidence.

"Is that so?" The Priestess said as she grabbed the black cloth from her pocket. "Then answer me this: Do you know the true reasons behind the Waves?"

"True reasons?" Ren asked all confused.

"Exactly. For a successful hero such as yourself, answering something like this should be simple." The Priestess taunted Ren as she turned her back to him and placed the cloth over her eyes. "Or is it that you don't know?"

"What's the true purpose of the Waves? Tell me." Ren asked now curious by the Priestess sudden question.

"No." Was all the Priestess answered as she left Ren alone in front of Melromarc's wall.

.

As she left, Ren just stood there, remembering what the Priestess said. As her voice began to ring in head, he tried to piece together her actions with her question, to try and solve a mystery he had been trying to solve since his summon.

.

_**With Naofumi's and Mototyasu's group…**_

* * *

.

After grabbing the crystals, they needed for the filolials clothes, the group had set out once again to try and mend the wounds they continuously tried to jab at in the past. As they traveled, Motoyasu began to share his knowledge on how he got to know the mechanics, but only from his perspective. Taking in this new knowledge, Naofumi had begun to see what he had been making his own life more difficult than it need to be especially with one technique he had completely ignored.

.

"So, you mean to tell me that, instead of just traveling back and forth…All I had to do was teleport since that was already a part of my skill set?" Naofumi asked unable to believe the words he was hearing.

"Yup. Though I had always assumed that you learned it when you were traveling. I guess it was wrong for me to assume. Sorry about that." Motoyasu said and apologized to Naofumi.

"Oh, I'm not blaming you Motoyasu. It's just…I can't believe I made my own life more difficult than it needed to be." Naofumi said in defeat.

"Don't worry about it. You were left out. If anything, I'll be sure to grab as much knowledge as I can, so that I can relay it to you." Motoyasu said with a smile.

"Yeah, sure." Naofumi replied.

"Hey, I'm being serious here." Motoyasu answered back at Naofumi.

"Oh, sure you are." Naofumi said with a sarcastic smile, only to get the same response from Motoyasu.

.

Seeing this from a distance, caused Alice to giggle.

.

"What's so funny, Miss Alice?" Levi asked as he placed down his gauntlets to check them for any damage.

"Oh, nothing." Alice answered only to change her answer quickly. "Well to be perfectly honest, I've never seen Naofumi fool around before. He's always been so serious, so it's a nice change of pace."

"Is that so?" Levi said as he picked up one gauntlet and began to inspect it.

"I agree with Miss Sephare, it is a nice change of pace." Éclair answered after she swallowed the food Naofumi had made. "His attitude was rough, but in order to fulfill my duty, I had to adapt to his lifestyle, as well as his attitude." Éclair added, with an embarrassed smile.

"Must be rough. Well, it wasn't the same with us." Levi spoke after hearing Éclair. "With Kitamura, his attitude was easy-going and always acted never on impulse, but interest. So, to be honest it never struck me that he was one of the Cardinal Heroes." As Levi said this, he turned his attention towards the two heroes who were pretty much at each other's throats, but he saw that there was no ill-will anywhere in their argument.

"But how did it not strike you that he was a Cardinal Hero?" Raphtalia said with annoyance in her voice.

"Well for the most part, he hid his spear in plain sight, by changing its appearance to that of a hairpin at first." Levi said as he spoke.

"A hairpin?" Alice repeated as she looked over at Naofumi. "Then why go and reveal himself to you guys?"

"Actually, he didn't. He every time he fought, he'd always had his spear wrapped in some type of cloth, so I never got to see the staff part of his spear, only the tip. Anyways, after traveling to find that crystal for the filolials clothes, some filolial named Fitoria came to us and asked for Kitamura. It really shocked both Lenn and myself." Levi responded with a bit of a chuckle.

"So, this Fitoria character…she revealed Kitamura's true identity?" But just before Levi could respond to Éclair's question, Raphtalia who had been silent all this time spoke up.

"Why didn't you just abandon him then and there. I mean he lied to you! That should be reason enough to leave him!" Raphtalia yelled.

"True. I have heard all the rumors about the Shield Hero raping his party member, but you see…" Levi paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm a man who doesn't believe anything, unless there is sufficient amount of proof. And I don't me just clothing." Levi answered with a brave smile.

.

After saying that, Motoyasu's body stiffened extremely as he heard those words come out of Levi's mouth.

.

"So, I'm guessing the last name made you doubt me a bit, Levi?" Motoyasu said scare of what the result may be.

"Let's just say that a certain someone kept proclaiming their name during the 2nd Wave so proudly that it was hard to ignore." Levi said as he drank his drink.

"Ugh… Right. Forgot about that." Motoyasu said as he held his head in embarrassment.

"So, anyways…Motoyasu." Naofumi spoke after hearing Levi talk. "From this point forward, if you're going to be traveling with us, then you follow my rules, understand?"

"Loud and clear." Motoyasu responded quickly, shocking Naofumi.

"I thought you'd be against it." Naofumi answered dumbfounded by this new Motoyasu.

"Well, there are a heck of a lot more Waves then the ones your seeing. So, the more help I can get the better it is for this world." Motoyasu said as he began to remember the sadden smile of the Priestess before he left Melromarc.

"Wait, there are other Waves besides the ones we're fighting?" Naofumi asked shocked at this new info.

"Wait, you did know?" But Motoyasu thought about it for a second before continuing. "Well, I guess you wouldn't have since we should've been summoned at different places."

"Wait, what did you say?" Raphtalia spoke up in a hurry after hearing Motoyasu.

"Huh? Oh, well before I left Melromarc, the Priestess gave me this book. " As Motoyasu pulled out the book from the bag he had been using to carry his items for his spear. "She also said that us Cardinal Heroes should have been summoned at different locations."

"Where did you get that book from?" Naofumi pointed at the book in shock as he knew full well what that book was.

"Like I said from the Priestess. She handed it to me before I left." Motoyasu answered as he handed to book over to Naofumi.

.

As the group continued doing their own tasks, Motoyasu and Naofumi stayed together. Seeing this Raphtalia began to noticed a different side of Motoyasu, but still had some doubts. As the two heroes began to talk mechanics, Alice just watched the sight. Then after a few hours, the group began to depart.

.

_**Back in Melromarc…**_

* * *

.

"Wow, it does work." Naofumi spoke as he teleported the entire group as well as himself back into Melromarc.

"Told you, didn't I?" Motoyasu answered as he walked up from behind.

"I guess I'm going to have to apologize." Naofumi spoke. "Start over?" Naofumi asked as he held out his hand.

"In fact, it's me who should keep apologizing to you." Motoyasu said as he took Naofumi's hand. "I'll take everyone who need's a Class Up. You do what you need to do. And then when your done, I'll see if I can get you a Class Up, too."

"Thanks." Naofumi said as he began to walk to Erhard's shop.

"I'll follow along with him." Éclair responded as she began to run, to try and catch up to Naofumi.

.

_**At the Three Heroes Church…**_

* * *

.

"I'm telling you, these guys are in my party." Motoyasu answered.

"Last I checked, Princess Malty was in your party." A nun spoke.

"She betrayed me. So, I left to find more people for a party I can truly trust." Motoyasu spoke up only to grab the attention of someone he knew all too well.

"I don't see the harm. If the Spear Hero says they're with him, then his words are the truth." The Priestess spoke as she entered the room.

"High Priestess." A nun said with hate rising in her voice.

"The Pope told me that there was a commotion and told me to handle it. You may all leave." The Priestess said as every nun left without much of a fight. "Forgive me for having you all go through such an experience. It's just that the Bow Hero left suddenly, and we haven't heard from him in quite some time."

"It always seems like you're saving me, instead of it being the other way around." Motoyasu said as he smiled.

"Now, as much as I would want this time to last, we must hurry." The Priestess said as she walked up to the hourglass. "Now, who's first?"

.

After several minutes, the entire group had their class-up. As Raphtalia was slightly impressed, she turned her attention towards Motoyasu, and noticed both the Priestess and him talking a bit ways away from them. Seeing Motoyasu embrace her before returning to the group, Raphtalia was about to say something, but was interrupted by Alice.

.

"Oh, that's sweet. Seems like he's finally choosing on one woman." Alice said as she smiled.

"What do you mean? He's just a good-for-nothing liar." Raphtalia answered but received a harsh slap to the back of her head.

"Cut it with that attitude. The past is the past, just leave it at that." Alice said harshly, which caused Raphtalia to reply.

"Yes, sis." Realizing what she said, Raphtalia looked towards Alice, who at this point was walking side-by-side with Levi. "Big Sis?"


End file.
